Seniors deliver letters to Governor

When Congress passed a new farm bill 9 months ago, it included a huge cut to food stamp benefits for hundreds of thousands of low income residents in 16 states, including Wisconsin. For awhile there, the state was compensating those folks for the benefits they lost, but not anymore. The hunger task force is among those now blaming governor Scott Walker. According to online documents, the Department of Health Services struck out a line in its handbook that allows people living in subsidized housing to appeal a cut to their food stamps.

This issue started earlier this year when the federal Farm Bill set new standards for program called \"Heat and Eat\" That program ties state heating assistance to federal food stamp benefits.

The Farm Bill says people who don't get at least 20 dollars a year in heating assistance will see a cut in food stamp money.

Many elderly people who live in subsidized housing have heat included in their rent, so those people saw the cut to benefits.

Thursday, a few of those seniors dropped off a stack of hundreds of hand written letters from other seniors pleading for walker to do something.