SCRANTON, PA. – Scranton Mayor Paige G. Cognetti, the current vice-chair of the Mayors Alliance to End Childhood Hunger, recently joined over 100 other mayors nationwide urging Congress to protect critical funding for nutrition programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program (SNAP); the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); and the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs.
“Cutting nutrition programs would harm our most vulnerable residents,” Mayor Cognetti said. “I’m proud to stand with the Mayors Alliance to End Childhood Hunger against these funding cuts that would hurt children.”
The letter signed by Mayor Cognetti urges Congressional leaders to “protect, strengthen, and fully fund federal food and nutrition programs” in fiscal years 2025 and 2026 and to “reject efforts to use federal nutrition program cuts to reduce or offset spending.”
“Our cities are on the frontline of responding to challenges in our communities, and as mayors, we need every option available to fight childhood hunger,” the letter reads.
Residents of Scranton and surrounding communities are unfortunately no strangers to hunger. According to Feeding America, as of 2021, nearly 25,000 people in Lackawanna County are considered food insecure, including more than 6,000 children ages 18 and under. Additional data from The Institute’s 2024 Indicators Dashboard shows that 13,863 Scranton residents live at or below the federal poverty line, and 7,803 households receive SNAP benefits.
Mayor Cognetti established the City’s Hunger Task Force and has partnered with local organizations to address the issue of food insecurity, most recently donating $10,000 from the 2024 City of Scranton budget in December to the Lackawanna Food Policy Council Fund.
“The solutions lie not just with mayors locally and with school districts and nonprofits, but they certainly lie in state legislatures and in our federal Congress,” Mayor Cognetti said. “It’s incumbent upon the Mayors Alliance to remind our state legislatures, remind our congressional members that childhood hunger exists and that the solutions do matter at the state and federal levels.”
The Mayors Alliance to End Childhood Hunger is a nonpartisan coalition of more than 400 mayors representing all 50 states and Washington, D.C., in partnership with Share Our Strength’s “No Kid Hungry” campaign. Mayor Cognetti became vice-chair of the alliance in January 2025.
Read a copy of the letter at https://bit.ly/MayorsAllianceLetter.
ABOUT THE CITY OF SCRANTON: Incorporated in 1866, the City of Scranton has a population of approximately 76,000 residents and is the sixth-largest municipality in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Scranton City Hall is located at 340 N. Washington Ave., Scranton, PA 18503. Residents requiring services should visit www.scrantonpa.gov
ABOUT MAYOR PAIGE G. COGNETTI: Paige G. Cognetti was sworn in as the 36th Mayor of Scranton in January 2020. Her administration is focused on driving economic growth, upgrading infrastructure, ensuring public safety, fostering government transparency and efficiency, and improving residents’ overall quality of life.
Mayor Cognetti Leads Call on Congress to Protect SNAP, Other Nutritional Benefits | Press Release
Last modified: March 10, 2025
