Just as Congress is in the midst of debating historic budget cuts. Consequently, millions of Americans are bracing themselves for potential cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. This lifeline, which delivers crucial nutrition support to millions of vulnerable families, has come under major fire, as controversial political negotiations heat up. One of the families who would be impacted are Elizabeth Butler’s family, who use SNAP to pay for their groceries.
Elizabeth Butler, an immediate past resident of Chapmanville, West Virginia, relies on her monthly SNAP benefits to help feed her family of three. Even with about $700 in monthly assistance, she often struggles to cover her basic needs. “Our food doesn’t even last us the month,” Butler said, highlighting the challenges that low-income families face. She often visits multiple supermarkets to secure the best prices for groceries, reflecting a survival strategy many families must adopt in light of rising food costs.
Nationally, nearly 42 million Americans use SNAP benefits. These important temporary provisions have been a lifeline to older adults, families with children, and people with disabilities. In West Virginia, for example, about 1 in 6 residents depend on these federal food vouchers. This recent statistic only serves to further illuminate the critical role SNAP plays in supporting our most vulnerable communities.
Jordan, a father of two, has been living off of SNAP benefits for the past three years. He and his wife take home almost $700 a month to help support their family of four. Their story is similar to millions of households around the nation facing food insecurity. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to be able to feed my family,” said Jordan. His words are testament to the strength of people living with these complex realities.
Cameron Whetzel, 25, of Abingdon, VA, grew up in a family that relied on SNAP. As someone who has experienced these struggles firsthand, he speaks out on disastrous cuts. “It’s really annoying that I’m expected to more than double my salary just to be able to buy food,” he said. Here’s why that’s a terrible state of affairs. As Whetzel concluded, pulling back on federal assistance in states already suffering would be unjust. He likened it to the idea of “kicking a horse after it’s dead.”
The current political climate complicates matters further. They’re being phased out under the Biden administration, despite expanded SNAP benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic significantly reducing food insecurity. Both Republican and Democratic Congressional leaders have voiced outrage over increasing food insecurity for millions of Americans. Despite this bipartisan apprehension, Congress has moved forward with cuts outlined in an initial House bill—a measure supported by some lawmakers, including Representative Moore.
Missouri Senator Josh Hawley has tweeted his opposition to the suggested cuts, although he recently backed down from that fight. He undercut his own argument though by praising most of those cuts to Medicaid. That’s a good sign because he’s apparently on board with most of the awful stuff in the bill. His comments are an indication of an increasing willingness among congressional Republicans to provide measures in which they have private convictions to vote against.
At the same time, West Virginia Senator Jim Justice has called on his fellow Republicans to stop the SNAP cuts. He cautioned them that they might be putting their newly-won majority in Congress at risk with such moves. “If we don’t watch out, people are going to get hurt,” Justice cautioned. “They really have no control over it … except that it’s going to be the No.1 thing on the nightly news all over the place.”
Tracy Roof, a professor at the University of Richmond, has researched SNAP’s political history. She argues that this moment is different from previous efforts to dismantle social welfare programs. “One thing that kind of distinguishes this period from the previous efforts to cut social welfare programmes has been the willingness of congressional Republicans to vote for things many of them apparently off the record have many concerns about,” she explained. Roof underlined the political reality that SNAP is more popular with Republicans than any other anti-poverty program.
With debates raging in Washington, the future of SNAP is unpredictable. Donald Trump vows to cut food prices in half. He’s arguing that this cut will mean Americans can afford to purchase a whole lot more food. As for people like Butler on the ground, they aren’t buying these promises. Indeed, during the recent markup, she said why hasn’t the president lowered food prices. He made a covenant with the people to do just that.