Letter to the Hon. Sonny Perdue, Secretary of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture - Menendez, Booker, Sires, Payne Urge USDA to Expand SNAP and WIC Benefits to Support Newark Residents Affected by Lead in Drinking Water

Letter

Dear Secretary Perdue:

We write in regard to the recent finding of high levels of lead in samples of filtered drinking water in Newark, New Jersey. We have been working with the City of Newark and State of New Jersey to identify ways to ensure the safety of Newark's residents and address the special needs of families and children. In order to better serve the immediate needs of this community, we urge the USDA to provide additional assistance in those efforts.

Infants who consume mostly powder formula that requires mixing are particularly vulnerable to exposure to lead in filtered water. As such, we are concerned that participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infants and Children (WIC) may not have sufficient access to "Ready to Feed" formula in order to limit the potential for exposure through powder formula. Currently, the State of New Jersey has begun making "Ready to Feed" formula available to Newark residents at WIC clinics. In order to reach more WIC participants, we ask that USDA both ensure that premixed formula be made available at all WIC retailers in Newark, and increase awareness of the availability of this option to WIC mothers. For WIC mothers who have already purchased powder formula, we request that USDA also offer the option to return powder formula in exchange for "Ready to Feed" formula. To supplement any increased costs, we urge USDA to allow for a temporary, targeted increase in WIC benefits so that the need for purchasing "Ready to Feed" formula does not financially burden participants.

Along with the protections outlined above, we believe that further action can be taken to protect vulnerable residents of Newark. In the event of a decrease in the State's bottled water supply, we ask that USDA implement a temporary, targeted increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. In doing so, participants with known or suspected lead service lines would be able to purchase bottled water without sacrificing current SNAP funding allocations needed for food purchases.

In order to further mitigate the potential impacts of lead exposure on Newark residents, we request your support for additional nutritional assistance. This includes making additional SNAP funding available to support nutrition needs as identified by the New Jersey Department of Human Services (NJDOH). To ensure access to nutritious foods to all families regardless of transportation or physical limitations, we ask that NJDOH be allowed to not only launch the SNAP home delivery pilot in Newark immediately, but be provided with additional funding to support delivery fee costs. Moreover, we urge USDA to allow SNAP recipients to use current funding allocations for prepared foods to mitigate any challenges with cooking that these families currently face. Lastly, we request emergency funding be granted to NJDOH to provide extended hours and expanded access to accommodate more participants in need of assistance who are unable to attend during the standard workday hours.

Given the need to limit at risk populations' potential exposure to lead in filtered water, we respectfully request your assistance with the aforementioned safeguards for the residents of Newark. We stand ready to assist in those efforts and any efforts to protect the City and its residents from further unnecessary exposure. We appreciate your immediate consideration of this request.