Trump’s Rollback of Food Stamps – The New York Times

To the Editor:

“The Cruel Farce of Cutting Food Stamps” (editorial, July 29) rightly called into question the administration’s flawed proposal to restrict food stamp eligibility. An estimated three million people would lose benefits under this rule. And because school meal eligibility is tied to food stamp eligibility, the rollback packs a double whammy: children losing meals at home and more than 500,000 children losing free school meals.

This rule may present the administration with a cost savings now, but as a country we will pay for this well into the future.

Lisa Davis
Washington
The writer is senior vice president of Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign.

To the Editor:

Re “Trump’s Latest Victims” (Op-Ed, Aug. 8):

Thank you, Jennifer Finney Boylan, for kick-starting an urgently needed conversation about the Trump administration’s harmful actions toward foster children.

The religious right has been fighting to erode marriage equality since it became legal nationwide, and has gained some traction by attacking L.G.B.T.Q. families’ ability to foster and adopt. Ten states have passed foster care and adoption laws that allow child welfare agencies and workers to discriminate based on religious beliefs against L.G.B.T.Q., religious minority and single parents. Now the Trump administration is reportedly planning to roll out such a policy nationwide, depriving many of America’s 440,000 foster children of safe and loving homes.

Denying foster children qualified, loving parents simply because they do not meet a religious litmus test turns the cardinal rule of child welfare on its head — that all decisions must be made in the best interest of the child.

Culture wars must not be fought on the backs of America’s most vulnerable children.

(Rev.) Stan J. Sloan
Jersey City
The writer, an Episcopal priest, is chief executive of Family Equality, which supports L.G.B.T.Q. parents and their children.

To the Editor:

Re “Sex in the Subway” (Sunday Styles, Aug. 11):

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s denial of sex-positive, inclusive ad campaigns, like those by Dame and Unbound, advertising sex toys, undermines the importance of engaging in healthy, honest conversations about sexual and reproductive health, which includes pleasure. The M.T.A. says its denial is because these companies offer products only for pleasure.

A study by the Center for Biotechnology Information concluded that those who use vibrators are more likely to engage in health-promoting behavior. They were also more likely to have had a gynecological exam in the last year and to have performed genital self-examination during the month before the study.

If the M.T.A. has agreed to advertise sex-related products without reducing them to mere promotion of a sexually oriented business, it is imperative that the M.T.A. does the same with products that can improve overall sexual and reproductive health.

Adrienne Verrilli
New York
The writer is vice president of communications and marketing for Planned Parenthood of New York City.

To the Editor:

Re “A Swimmer’s Guide to Happiness,” by Richard A. Friedman (Sunday Review, July 28):

As a senior who came late to the message about the value of physical exercise, I have a mantra: “If I can get out of bed, I can go to the pool.” And it’s not just the positive effect of the water but the necessity of even minor interactions with the people I encounter.

Water heals, of course, but encounters with people of all ages along the way get my mind off my growing list of aches and pains. If that fails, then there’s the challenge of coming up with a song I can grumble as I swim back and forth.

The positive effect of my effort always makes me feel better by the time I finish.

Ruth Kramer Ziony
Los Feliz, Calif.