Contact: Frances Mykoff, frances@feedinglouisiana.org, 225-310-0091, Feeding Louisiana Director of Development & Communications

Louisiana Anti-Hunger Coalition to Hold Virtual Press Conference Highlighting Need to Protect SNAP and Medicaid

WHAT: Virtual Press Conference on Proposed SNAP and Medicaid Cuts

WHEN: TOMORROW - Wednesday, June 25, 2025 | 10:00 AM

WHERE: Zoom Registration: Click Here

WHO: Louisiana Anti-Hunger Coalition and 23+ co-sponsoring organizations

BATON ROUGE, LA – On Wednesday, June 25 at 10 AM via Zoom, the Louisiana Anti-Hunger Coalition and co-sponsoring organizations will host a virtual press conference to call attention to ongoing threats to critical food and health programs in the proposed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

The virtual press conference will feature presenters who lead a variety of Louisiana organizations, including:

• Pat R. Van Burkleo, Executive Director of Feeding Louisiana

  • Contact: pat@feedinglouisiana.org | 225.310.0092

• Dauda Sesay, Founder and Executive Director of Louisiana Organization for Refugees and Immigrants (LORI)

  • Contact: dsesay@mylori.org | 225.303.4665

• John Sillars, Chief Strategy Officer of Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana

  • Contact: ncurley@no-hunger.org | 337.224.6308

• Dr. Jennifer Avegno, Director of the New Orleans Health Department

  • Contact: isis.casanova@nola.gov | 504.658.2529

• Michael McClanahan, President of the NAACP Louisiana State Conference

  • Contact: mwmcclanahan@yahoo.com | 225.287.4673

• Conrad Cable, Owner of Current Farms

  • Contact: conradcable10@gmail.com | 318.789.9894

Media representatives are encouraged to contact presenters and co-sponsoring organizations for in-person and/or phone interviews and additional information. A recording of the press conference will be distributed.

The Louisiana Anti-Hunger Coalition welcomes the Senate Parliamentarian’s recent decision to strike the bill’s proposed SNAP cost-sharing provision, which would have shifted the financial burden of food assistance to states for the first time in the program’s history.

“This is an important step in the right direction,” stated Pat R. Van Burkleo, Executive Director of Feeding Louisiana. “The cost-sharing proposal would have been devastating for a state like Louisiana, where more than half of our budget comes from federal funding.”

Still, major concerns remain. The bill continues to include other changes that could restrict access to SNAP and Medicaid for thousands of Louisianians.

One such change is expanding SNAP work requirements by raising the ABAWD (Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents) age limit from 54 to 64. Currently in Louisiana, ABAWDs ages 18-54 without dependents under 18 must work, volunteer, or participate in an employment and training program for at least 80 hours per month. Additionally, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” proposes reducing the age of qualifying dependents for ABAWDs to 10 from 18.

“Work requirements reduce SNAP participation, not poverty,” continues Van Burkleo. “Expanding work requirements by raising the ABAWD age limit by a decade is particularly concerning to us. Most ABAWD are employed, but many work unstable jobs with high turn-over. Some live in parishes with high unemployment rates, leading to stretches of unemployment despite their best efforts.”

As the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” advances in the Senate, hunger relief advocates are urging lawmakers to protect SNAP and Medicaid, which are essential to the health and stability of Louisiana communities.

“Many Louisianians are just one crisis away from needing help,” continues Van Burkleo. “When that moment comes, programs like SNAP and Medicaid provide critical resources that help keep families afloat, enabling them to contribute positively to communities and live their lives with dignity.”

Nearly 18% of Louisianians – including 350,000 children and 100,000 seniors – rely on SNAP to help pay their grocery bill. Medicaid provides coverage for roughly 1.4 million Louisianians.

Food banks and community organizations are already stretched thin and would not be able to fill the gap that restricted access to SNAP and Medicaid could create.

“We believe there is strength in numbers,” concluded Van Burkleo. “This virtual press conference is about showing our Senators that people across Louisiana, and the organizations that serve them, want to protect these programs.”

Press-Conference Co-Sponsors:

• 10,000 Women Louisiana

• Alliance to Defeat Hunger

• BeWell Foundation

• Current Farms

• Feeding Louisiana

• Food Bank of Central Louisiana

• Food Bank of Northeast Louisiana

• Focus Clubhouse

• Gladewaves

• Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank

• Invest in Louisiana

• Louisiana Food Policy Council

• Louisiana Organization for Refugees and Immigrants

• Louisiana Partnership for Children and Families

• Lowernine.org

• Market Umbrella

• My Kid Plate Foundation

• NAACP Louisiana State Conference

• New Orleans Health Department

• No Kid Hungry Louisiana

• Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana

• Southern University A&M College

• Swipe Out Hunger

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About the Louisiana Anti-Hunger Coalition: Our goal is to put an end to hunger across our state. We strive to achieve food security for every resident of Louisiana by promoting and supporting programs and agencies that aid those facing hunger and food insecurity, advocating for well-informed public policies, cultivating grassroots support, and educating key stakeholders about the issue of hunger in Louisiana. Learn more at lahungercoalition.org.