Well, well, if it isn’t another Friday come upon us. And Halloween, no less. Fret not: We only have treats for you here.
Here’s what we covered at Decision Points this week:
Monday: Tariffs
“It was a familiar pattern for Trump,” Tim wrote. “The threat of a sharp increase in tariffs is consistent with his style of striking first publicly, then letting negotiations go on behind the scenes as he waits for the opportunity to announce a deal that he asserts only he could have made.”
As is the case with every “deal” Trump announces, we’ll have to watch whether China confirms the terms of the arrangement and then monitor implementation.
Tuesday: Shutdown
On Tuesday, I wrote about how the partial government shutdown risks affecting some of the most vulnerable Americans – those on food stamps, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (known as WIC) and those in the preschool Head Start program.
All told, we’re talking about millions of Americans who depend on federally funded and state-administered programs. Some states have scrounged up the money to keep providing those services – temporarily, anyway.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, aka food stamps, is the country’s largest nutrition assistance program. It costs about $100 billion per year, and benefits average $187.20 per participant per month.
Wednesday: Christmas Shoppers
On Wednesday, I looked at a new Gallup survey that asked Americans how much they planned to spend on gifts this holiday season. It’s a decent stand-in for people’s views about the health of the economy.
And in this instance, the data highlighted the “K-shaped economy,” in which those at the top fare better and better over time, while those at the bottom see their situation deteriorate.
“Americans in households earning less than $50,000 expect to spend $651 on holiday gifts, down from $776 last year,” I wrote. “Americans in households earning $100,000 or more forecast they’ll spend $1,479, up from $1,403 in 2024. As for middle-income Americans, they project spending $847, down a bit from last year’s $902.”
Thursday: Layoffs Galore
On Thursday, I took stock of the wave of layoff announcements over the past few weeks. Tens of thousands of workers are, or will be, out of a job right as we enter the winter holiday season.
And corporations are pouring on the corporate-speak pretty thick. They’re “removing layers” or “re-grounding” or “evolving.”
Paramount, Amazon, UPS, Target, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble and GM are each parting ways with chunks of their workforces. The reasons are varied, from a slowdown in electric vehicle demand, to the rise of AI, to the pain from President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
My thoughts: “As someone pushed out of two jobs in the last five years, I can tell you that corp’ talk about flexibility or de-layering or being “nimble” just adds insult to injury. You’re cutting costs? I get that. Please don’t dress it up like a family pet for Halloween.”
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Millions of Americans are sliding toward a financial cliff as the government shutdown stretches into a second month, with four federal assistance programs for low-income families set to run out of funding on Nov. 1.
Some families could lose access to multiple sources of government support. Ashley Trent, a 37-year-old single mother of six, expressed concern she could soon be without aid provided under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), better known as food stamps, and the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, which provides food aid for mothers of young children.
“I’m wondering how I’m going to be able to afford everything,” Trent, a Bloomington, Ill., resident who works full-time as a housing navigator, told CBS News. “It’s very stressful — what bills will I have to put off? I have a car note, I have insurance, I have clothes I have to get my kids because it’s getting colder.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which funds SNAP and WIC, has said it will halt payments for the anti-hunger programs on Nov. 1 due to the government shutdown. Head Start programs serving 65,000 low-income children will also lose federal funding on Saturday, potentially disrupting preschool for thousands of families, according to the National Head Start Association.
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps struggling households heat their homes, could be next to run short of funding.
Halting funding for these programs — which help cover food, education, and energy costs — could have lasting consequences for poor families already strained by high grocery and utility prices, said Ailen Arreaza, executive director of the advocacy group ParentsTogether Action.
Although funding will resume once Congress passes legislation to reopen the government, she warned that the damage to households could persist.
“What we are hearing from parents is desperation — parents going without meals, making impossible decisions about not paying bills or going without medication,” Arreaza told CBS News. “This has so many implications, because these kids need these programs to get ahead.”
Experts note that hunger can hinder children’s ability to learn, while parents who fall behind on bills may face utility shutoffs or other lasting setbacks.
Food stamps
The USDA is set to halt SNAP payments on Nov. 1, leaving about 42 million Americans uncertain how they’ll afford groceries next month. Recipients receive an average of about $187 a month on prepaid cards that can be used to buy food at grocery stores, farmers’ markets and other retailers.
A prolonged cessation in food-stamp funding isn’t guaranteed. Two federal judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island ruled on Friday that the Trump administration is required by law to use contingency funds to pay at least partial SNAP benefits. The government must respond by Monday on whether it plans to allocate money to continue payments.
Meanwhile, more than a dozen states are trying to fill the gap by using state funds to support food aid or local food banks. But food bank leaders say charities can’t make up for a cutoff in food stamps.
“It’s going to hurt us really bad,” said Taylour Grant, 29, a Tampa medical assistant who relies on $970 a month in SNAP benefits to feed her four children, plus WIC support for her youngest, who is 1-year-old. “It’s really scary because I know I’ll go without to make sure my kids are fed.”
Grant said many people misunderstand who relies on SNAP. “We’re not on it because we want to be — no one makes enough to live off these days. That help is really needed,” she said.
WIC
Nearly 7 million low-income pregnant women, new mothers and children under 5 who receive WIC could lose federal aid in November because of the government shutdown.
Unlike food stamps, WIC provides funds specifically to purchase formula and nutritious foods for pregnant women and young children, though many families rely on both programs, said Georgia Machell, CEO of the National WIC Association.
“None of these programs operate in a vacuum,” she said. “Often, if a family is participating in WIC, they’re also participating in SNAP.”
WIC continued paying benefits in October after the Trump administration tapped $300 million in leftover tariff revenue from the previous fiscal year. But with the stalemate in Congress continuing into November, that funding could run out.
The USDA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about whether it could tap additional tariff revenue to fund the program. At this point, the program is set to delay payments on Nov. 1, according to the National WIC Association.
WIC has been able to maintain funding during previous shutdowns in its 50-year history, according to the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), a nonprofit group focused on stopping hunger. “The disruptions we’re concerned about would be fairly historic,” Machell said.
Some states have pledged to use their own funds to keep WIC running, but many lack the budget, according to FRAC.
Head Start
About 140 Head Start programs in 41 states and Puerto Rico will lose federal funding with the shutdown set to extend past Nov. 1, affecting roughly 65,000 children, according to the National Head Start Association. Nationwide, about 750,000 children are enrolled in Head Start.
Some programs may not be able to stay open, regional program directors warn.
“Everybody is trying to do everything they can to keep children in classrooms and families at work,” Michelle Haimowitz, executive director of the Massachusetts Head Start Association, told CBS News Boston. “But it is incredibly difficult to operate without those federal funds.”
Minnesota mother Jaycee Chrudimsky said she fears that the closure of her local Head Start program could force her to miss work and affect her 4-year-old daughter.
“It would impact her, and that’s the thing I worry about the most, because she looks forward to coming to school every single day and seeing her friends and being a part of the program,” Chrudimsky told CBS News Minnesota this week.
LIHEAP
Another program threatened by the shutdown is the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, said Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA). The program helps about 6 million low-income households pay their energy bills.
“We are now at a point where the government shutdown is going to cause serious delays in the release of LIHEAP funds,” Wolfe told CBS News.
The delay could leave millions of families behind on utility bills and facing power shutoffs just as energy prices are skyrocketing, he added.
More than 42 million Americans across the country who rely on the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, also known as SNAP, will lose the benefit Saturday as the shutdown continues. Diane Yentel, CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits, joins “The Daily Report” to discuss its lawsuit against the Trump administration.
The prolonged U.S. government shutdown is putting millions of Americans at risk of missing their November food stamp benefits, a vital lifeline for low-income households.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, said in a memo Sunday that no benefits will be issued on Nov. 1, leaving the program’s roughly 42 million beneficiaries uncertain about how they’ll pay for groceries next month.
SNAP recipients receive an average of $187 a month on a prepaid card, and many families rely on those benefits as their main source of money for food. Many of those registered with the program are also asking if they will still be able to use the remaining dollars on their cards once funding is suspended and if they’ll receive their November benefits retroactively, should lawmakers reach a deal to reopen the government.
With just days to go before a potential suspension in SNAP funding, here’s what to know.
Will current SNAP benefits roll over to November?
While SNAP benefits will not be disbursed as scheduled in November, program recipients can use existing funds on their EBT cards to make purchases. If someone enrolled in the program hasn’t spent all their October EBT dollars, for example, those benefits would roll over into November.
Some states are advising recipients to use their remaining food stamps wisely, given the stalemate over funding the federal government.
“If you have remaining balances from previous months, we encourage you to plan your shopping carefully and purchase essential food items when needed,” Hawaii’s Department of Human Services said on its website.
Will SNAP recipients get paid retroactively for missed payments?
The USDA hasn’t indicated whether SNAP benefits would be paid retroactively once the government shutdown ends.
But social service experts who spoke with CBS News said they expect the USDA to pay the delayed November benefits once federal funding resumes.
“It is our understanding that SNAP benefits will be issued retroactively when the shutdown ends,” said Lizbeth Ginsburg, a managing attorney in the welfare law unit at Greater Boston Legal Services.
Federal rules governing the food-stamp program stipulate that SNAP recipients are entitled to their benefits, and that they should receive them if there’s a disruption, said Gina Plata-Nino, interim SNAP director at the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), a nonprofit group focused on ending hunger.
“That’s why many state agencies have done a very good job of saying, ‘Your benefits will be delayed,’ versus, ‘You are not getting benefits,’” she told CBS News.
Can states step in to fund SNAP?
While SNAP is federally funded and overseen by the USDA, each state is responsible for administering the program to its residents.
Some states are taking action, with Democratic lawmakers urging Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to tap into an estimated $5 billion in contingency funds to cover SNAP benefits next month. On Tuesday, a coalition of officials from 25 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration over the suspension of benefits, arguing that it is unlawful. The lawsuit notes that this would mark the first delay in SNAP benefits in the program’s history.
In recent days, several states have pledged to step in to ensure SNAP recipients can afford food in November. Their approaches vary, with some states promising to dispatch troops to support food banks, while others are allocating funds for general hunger relief.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed an emergency declaration on Oct. 24 intended to fund SNAP benefits for people who rely on the program, while Vermont lawmakers on Oct. 29 approved a plan to cover its residents’ food stamp benefits through Nov. 15.
Other states say they plan to ramp up support for local food banks by providing on-site personnel and additional funding. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said last week he would deploy National Guard troops to assist food bank operations and fast-track $80 million to keep the state’s food banks stocked.
In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul said she is providing $30 million in state funding to support 16 million meals. Roughly 3 million people in New York are on food stamps.
Officials in these states are stepping in despite the USDA saying states lack the authority to cover benefits and won’t be reimbursed.
“There is no provision or allowance under current law for states to cover the cost of benefits and be reimbursed,” the agency said in its memo.
Plata-Nino said that puts states in a difficult position, given their already limited reserves. It also diverts attention and funding from other priorities, she added.
“These are resources that could have gone to other places,” she said.
Community Emergency Assistance Program (CEAP), a local food assistance nonprofit, says it costs them $85,000 a month to help the families already coming to them — that’s before an expected surge when SNAP benefits run out.
“For many of us, the holidays are coming in, we’re thinking about presents, holiday meals,” said Kalleah Kennedy of CEAP. “For a lot of our neighbors coming in, they’re thinking about what can I get on the table right now.”
If you’re looking to help out, they say financial and non-parishable donations are key.
“If everybody does something, nobody has to do everything and a lot of people get helped in the process,” Boyd said.
Is Walmart, the biggest U.S. retail chain, closing to in-store shoppers starting Nov. 1?
Viral videos on TikTokandFacebook shared that claim, saying Walmart is taking action ahead of an expected funding lapse for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which provides food assistance to low-income people.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers SNAP, said benefits will stop Nov. 1, potentially cutting off about 42 million people from the program commonly known as food stamps.
Walmart operates more than 4,500 U.S. stores, excluding Sam’s Club stores. A TikTok user said in an Oct. 22 video that Walmart will lock its doors and allow only online shopping and curbside pickup starting Nov. 1. The person in the video said the stores will reopen in January. The TikTok had 1.1 million views as of Oct. 29.
Many of the posts shared on social media suggested that people had threatened to rob and loot Walmart stores, and that’s why the company would close to in-store shoppers.
The claims are false, Walmart spokesperson Rodrigo Santos Legaspi said in a phone call to PolitiFact.
We found no press releases, news reports, social media statements or announcements that Walmart will close Nov. 1. The retail chain promoted in-store Black Friday deals that begin Nov. 14 in an Oct. 27 press release.
SNAP shoppers patronized Walmart more than any other grocery retailer, with 94.4% of them buying from the store in the past year, according to September figures from the data company Numerator. SNAP shoppers’ Walmart purchases amounted to 26.1% of the group’s annual grocery spend, the highest among retailers.
It is not clear where the rumor originated. The Oct. 22 TikTok video was one of the earliest iterations PolitiFact found, and since then, severalvideos with fake headlines and news reports have repeated the claim.
The rumor that Walmart is closing to in-store shoppers Nov. 1 is unfounded. We rate that Pants on Fire!
A new lawsuit by Democratic state officials Tuesday seeks to uncork emergency money to help tens of millions of Americans keep buying food for their families after federal SNAP funding is expected to run dry Saturday due to the U.S. government shutdown.
Groceries are displayed on a counter in Bellflower, Calif., on Monday, Feb. 13, 2023. Student and legal advocacy groups are petitioning the U.S. Department of Agriculture to lift the interview requirement for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) applicants to receive food aid. SNAP helps low-income families supplement their budgets so they can buy groceries, snacks, and non-alcoholic beverages. An estimated 42 million Americans currently receive the benefits at an average of $212 per person or $401 per household. (AP Photo/Allison Dinner, File)(AP/Allison Dinner)
Groceries are displayed on a counter in Bellflower, Calif., on Monday, Feb. 13, 2023. Student and legal advocacy groups are petitioning the U.S. Department of Agriculture to lift the interview requirement for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) applicants to receive food aid. SNAP helps low-income families supplement their budgets so they can buy groceries, snacks, and non-alcoholic beverages. An estimated 42 million Americans currently receive the benefits at an average of $212 per person or $401 per household. (AP Photo/Allison Dinner, File)(AP/Allison Dinner)
A new lawsuit by Democratic state officials Tuesday seeks to uncork emergency money to help tens of millions of Americans keep buying food for their families after federal SNAP funding is expected to run dry Saturday due to the U.S. government shutdown.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, helps about one in eight Americans buy groceries. A halt to SNAP benefits would leave a gaping hole in the country’s safety net. Vulnerable families could see federal money dry up soon for some other programs, as well.
Aid for mothers to care for their newborns through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, known as WIC, could run out the following week.
Here’s a look at what would happen.
Democratic officials sue
Tuesday’s legal filing from attorneys general from 22 states and the District of Columbia, plus three governors, focuses on a federal contingency fund with roughly $5 billion in it – enough to pay for the benefits for more than half a month.
President Donald Trump’s Department of Agriculture said in September that its plan for a shutdown included using the money to keep SNAP running. But in a memo last week, it said that it couldn’t legally use that money for such a purpose.
The Democratic officials contend the administration is legally required to keep benefits going as long as it has funding.
The agency said debit cards beneficiaries use as part of SNAP to buy groceries will not be reloaded as of Nov. 1.
With their own coalition, 19 Republican state attorneys general sent Democratic U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer a letter Tuesday urging passage of a “clean continuing resolution” to keep funding SNAP benefits.
Lack of funds for SNAP benefits could affect millions
Most SNAP participants are families with children, more than 1 in 3 include older adults or someone with a disability, and close to 2 in 5 are households where someone is employed. Most have incomes that put them below the poverty line, about $32,000 in income for a family of four, according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
The average monthly benefit is $187 per person.
Beneficiaries say that without the aid, they’ll be forced to choose between buying food and paying other bills. Food banks are preparing for a spike in demand that they’ll have to navigate with decreased federal aid themselves.
The debit cards are recharged in slightly different ways in each state. Not everyone receives their benefits on the first day of the month, though many beneficiaries get them early in the month.
States expect retailers will be able to accept cards with balances on them, even if they’re not replenished.
Some states seeking to fill void of SNAP benefit cuts
State governments controlled by both Democrats and Republicans are scrambling to help recipients. But several say they don’t have the technical ability to fund the regular benefits.
Officials in Louisiana, Vermont and Virginia have pledged to provide some type of backup food aid for recipients even while the shutdown stalls the federal program, though state-level details haven’t been announced.
More funding for food banks and pantries is planned in states including New Hampshire, Minnesota, California, New Mexico, Connecticut and New York.
The USDA advised Friday that states won’t be reimbursed for funding the benefits.
Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster announced Tuesday that the state is opening a nonprofit fund typically used for disasters to give grants to food banks. But the fund is empty and will need immediate donations. Last year, it raised $6 million for Hurricane Helene relief. Each month, more than $100 million in SNAP benefits are delivered in South Carolina.
In Pennsylvania, where a budget stalemate has held up more than $25 million in aid to food banks, Democratic lawmakers are pushing for $60 million in emergency aid for food banks and meals on wheels programs.
The Trump administration is blaming Democrats, who say they will not agree to reopen the government until Republicans negotiate with them on extending expiring subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. Republicans say Democrats must first agree to reopen the government before negotiation.
Early childhood education
More than 130 Head Start preschool programs won’t receive their annual federal grants on Nov. 1 if the government remains shut down, according to the National Head Start Association.
Centers are scrambling to assess how long they can stay open, since nearly all their funding is federal. Head Start provides education and child care for the nation’s neediest preschoolers. When a center closes, families may have to miss work or school.
With new grants on hold, a half dozen Head Start programs have already missed federal disbursements they were expecting Oct. 1 but have stayed open with fast-dwindling reserves or with help from local governments. All told, more than 65,000 seats at Head Start programs across the country could be affected.
Food aid for mothers and young children
Another food aid program supporting millions of low-income mothers and young children already received an infusion to keep the program open through the end of October, but even that money is set to run out early next month.
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children helps more than 6 million low-income mothers, young children and expectant parents purchase nutritious staples such as fruits and vegetables, low-fat milk and infant formula.
The program, known as WIC, risked running out of money in October because of the shutdown. The Trump administration reassigned $300 million keep the program afloat. But it was only enough for a few weeks.
Now, states say they could run out of WIC money as early as Nov. 8.
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Mattise reported from Nashville, Tennessee. Mulvihill reported from Haddonfield, New Jersey. Contributors include Jeffrey Collins in West Columbia, South Carolina, and Margery Beck in Omaha, Nebraska.
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This version corrects the day of the South Carolina governor’s announcement to Tuesday.
25 states sue Trump administration over SNAP food stamp funding freeze – CBS News
Watch CBS News
25 states are suing the Trump administration to stop federal food aid from being suspended amid the government shutdown. CBS News correspondent Nicole Valdes has more.
Roughly 42 million Americans rely on food stamps that arrive every month on their electronic benefit transfer cards. On Nov. 1, that aid is set to abruptly stop amid the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, potentially leaving households scrambling to figure out how to put food on the table.
People enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, told CBS News they’re bracing for some tough financial choices. Kasey McBlais, a 42-year-old single mom who lives in Buckfield, Maine, said she’s planning to delay paying her electric and credit card bills to make sure her two children have enough to eat.
“Now we’ll have to prioritize which bills we can pay and which can wait,” said McBlais, who works for a Maine social services agency and who draws about $600 a month in SNAP benefits. “My children won’t go hungry.”
The suspension of food aid comes as Democratic and Republican lawmakers continue to trade blame over the government shutdown, which now stands as the second-longest funding lapse in U.S. history. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which funds the SNAP program, warned earlier this month that there would be insufficient funding to pay full November benefits if the shutdown continued, prompting local governments to post notices on their websites about the potential interruption in payments.
“Bottom line, the well has run dry,” the USDA said in a memoposted Sunday on its website. “At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01.”
Democratic lawmakers have asked the USDA to use contingency funds to cover most of next month’s SNAP benefits, but an agency memo surfaced on Friday that says “contingency funds are not legally available to cover regular benefits.” The document says the money is reserved for such things as helping people in disaster areas.
That means beginning Nov. 1, the government will halt about $8 billion in monthly SNAP payments, cutting off food assistance for the one in eight Americans who are enrolled in the program. Recipients, who include households in every state, typically get about $187 a month on a prepaid card to help cover the cost of groceries.
Some U.S. states, including Louisiana, Vermont and Virginia, have vowed to continue disbursing SNAP benefits even if the federal government suspends payments. New York on Monday pledged $30 million in emergency food assistance, while also recently committing to provide millions more in support for food banks.
Yet the USDA memo stipulates that states won’t be reimbursed for temporarily providing food aid to residents, raising questions about the viability of that approach.
Sharlene Sutton, a 45-year-old mother of four in Dorchester, Mass., who left her job as a security officer last month to care for one of her children, who has epilepsy, said she relies on the $549 she gets in monthly SNAP benefits to feed her family.
“I was freaking out because I’m like, ‘Oh my god, now I don’t have a job,'” she told CBS News. “I’m not worried about myself that much. It’s about the kids. Like, where am I going to get food from?”
Turning to food banks
Sutton said she’s looking for a food bank to help fill the gap if her food aid is cut off. But experts warn that the non-profit organizations alone aren’t capable of filling the $8 billion monthly hole left by a looming SNAP suspension.
“The charitable food system and food banks don’t have the resources to replace all those food dollars,” John Sayles, CEO of Vermont Foodbank in Barre, Vermont, told CBS News.
Already, food banks are getting an influx of calls from SNAP recipients who are worried about the payments freeze, and food shelves could see long lines next month if the shutdown persists, Sayles said.
“There is no safety net after SNAP other than the food shelf,” he added.
Albuquerque, New Mexico’s Roadrunner Food Bank, which typically serves 83,000 households per week, is “seeing panic” among residents due to the SNAP halt, said Katy Anderson, vice president of strategy, partnerships and advocacy at the nonprofit organization.
Even before this new surge in demand, food banks were already facing pressures because of the growing number of people seeking their services, aggravated this year by persistent inflation, and funding constraints. In March, the USDA said it was nixing $420 million in funding for a program that allows food banks to buy food directly from local farms, ranchers and producers.
A surge in patrons could also strain food banks as they face their own funding struggles and contend with growing demand thanks to inflation ticking higher in March, the USDA said it was nixing $420 million in funding for a program that allows food banks to buy food directly from local farms, ranchers and producers.
Broader economic impact
A temporary halt in $8 billion in monthly food aid could also impact local businesses, from grocers to farm stands, said Sayles of Vermont Foodbank. Each $1 in SNAP benefits provides an economic benefit of $1.60, he said, referring to the so-called multiplier effect in which dollars flowing through the local economy help support spending, jobs and growth.
“SNAP is the foundation of economic support for a lot of food retailers, like those smaller places in rural areas and the corner store in our cities,” said Kate Bauer, an associate professor of nutritional services at the University of Michigan. “So this has far-reaching impacts beyond just the people who get SNAP.”
SNAP is designed to provide supplemental aid for a family’s grocery budget, but some families depend on it as their main source of income to buy food, Bauer noted. For those living paycheck to paycheck, even a short disruption in benefits can have immediate consequences, experts said.
The loss of SNAP funding threatens some of the most vulnerable people in the U.S., with the Center on Budget Policy and Priorities noting that two-thirds of food-stamp recipients are children, seniors or people with disabilities.
For McBlais, the single mom, the issue isn’t political. Rather, it’s about making sure families can eat in an economy where many are already struggling to afford rent, utilities and basic groceries, she told CBS News.
“Everybody needs food — SNAP recipients are Democratic, Republicans and everything in between,” McBlais said.
Nearly 42 million Americans will not receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, starting Saturday, due to the ongoing government shutdown. CBS News congressional reporter Taurean Small has more.
Hunger is coming to Minnesota, local food banks warn, as SNAP benefits are scheduled to run out in days if the federal government shutdown does not end.
Forty-two million people will lose benefits nationwide, including more than 440,000 Minnesotans, on Saturday.
Local food banks are bracing for a surge in demand, fearing they won’t have enough food to offer.
The Food Group is a Minnesota nonprofit that works with and administers grants to food banks statewide.
“This is really an unprecedented situation. We have food shelves who have already been at capacity with high grocery prices, seeing over 9 million visits last year,” Sophie Lenarz-Coy, executive director of The Food Group, said.
Without SNAP benefits, one of the only options is food shelves, which many SNAP recipients already use. The average SNAP benefit per person in Minnesota is $157 a month, or just over $5 a day.
But food shelves are already struggling to meet demand. The Food Group reports visits to Minnesota food shelves rose 18% between 2023 and 2024.
Among the biggest increases are rural areas, with visits in Nobles County in southwestern Minnesota rising 194% and visits in Mahnomen County in northern Minnesota rising 102%. Those figures do not account for increased demand in 2025, fueled by continued inflation, budget cuts and laid-off and furloughed federal workers.
“This will become a disaster, right? If we don’t stand by our entitlement program to keep people fed in November, which is a month that is so much about food and celebration for folks,” Lenarz-Coy said.
The Food Group is urging Congress to immediately release $5 million in federal SNAP contingency funds. According to multiple reports, the Trump administration says it will not do that because it says the funding is for emergencies like natural disasters.
Another possible fix would come if Congress were to pass emergency funding this coming week to keep benefits flowing. But to do that, Speaker Mike Johnson would have to order the House back to Washington, D.C. for a vote. Johnson has said he might do that if the U.S. Senate first votes on funding.
Meanwhile, local food shelves say they don’t know what will happen if Minnesotans lose their benefits later this week.
You can watch WCCO Sunday Morning with Esme Murphy and Adam Del Rosso every Sunday at 6 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
Trump administration won’t use emergency funds for food stamps amid shutdown – CBS News
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The Trump administration says it will not use emergency funds to pay for federal food benefits with a fast-approaching deadline. One in eight Americans relies on SNAP benefits. Christina Fan has more details.
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is rejecting the idea of using roughly $5 billion in contingency funds to keep food aid flowing into November amid the government shutdown, according to a Department of Agriculture memo that surfaced Friday. States temporarily covering the cost of benefits next month will not be reimbursed, the memo says.
Democratic lawmakers and various advocacy groups have been calling on the administration to use the contingency fund to provide partial benefits into November though the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly referred to as SNAP.
But the two-page document states that “contingency funds are not legally available to cover regular benefits.”
The prospect of SNAP benefits running out as a result of the shutdown has become a major concern in the states. Lawmakers from both political parties are blaming the other for the hardship that would ensue. The program helps about 1 in 8 Americans buy groceries.
The document states that the contingency fund is reserved for such things as helping individuals in disaster areas. It cited Tropical Storm Melissa, which could become a major hurricane in the coming days, as an example of why it’s important to have funds available to mobilize quickly in the event of a disaster. The document was obtained by The Associated Press and was first reported by Axios.
The document blames Democrats for the government shutdown that began Oct. 1 and states that November SNAP benefits would be paid on time “if not for Congressional Democrats blocking government funding.”
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries earlier Friday told reporters the administration has the resources to ensure than not a single American goes hungry on Nov. 1. He accused Republicans of “trying to weaponize hunger” and called it unconscionable. In a statement later Friday he said it would be a “disgusting dereliction of duty” to halt the food assistance.
Meanwhile, Democrats in the House and Senate have written Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins requesting that she use the contingency fund to cover the bulk of November benefits.
“Choosing not to ensure SNAP benefits reach those in need this November would be a gross dereliction of your responsibilities to the American people,” said a letter sent Friday by 214 House Democrats.
The latest department guidance on the contingency fund appears to contrast in some respects with the department’s 55-page plan for operations in the event of a shutdown. That plan stated that it’s evident Congress has intended for SNAP operations to continue since the program has been provided with multi-year contingency funds to cover state administrative expenses and to pay for participant benefits should a funding lapse occur in the middle of the fiscal year.
The department guidance that surfaced Friday says the contingency fund is not available to support the current budget year’s benefits because “the appropriations for regular benefits no longer exists.”
The shutdown began when a short-term measure to fund the government failed to advance in the Senate. The current impasse is now the second-longest on record. The administration took steps leading up to the shutdown to ensure SNAP benefits were paid in October, with states and lawmakers looking for guidance from the administration for what would happen next month.
The SNAP program is administered by the states. Officials in Louisiana, Vermont and Virginia pledged Thursday to keep food aid flowing to recipients in their states, even if the federal program is stalled because of the shutdown. Other states have explored using their own funds to prop up the program but have run into technical roadblocks.
Some states have been telling SNAP recipients to be ready for the benefits to stop. Arkansas, for example, is advising recipients to identify food pantries and other groups that might be able to help, and to ask friends and family for aid.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is rejecting the idea of using roughly $5 billion in contingency funds to keep food aid flowing into November amid the government shutdown, according to a Department of Agriculture memo that surfaced Friday. States temporarily covering the cost of benefits next month will not be reimbursed, the memo says.
Democratic lawmakers and various advocacy groups have been calling on the administration to use the contingency fund to provide partial benefits into November though the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly referred to as SNAP.
But the two-page document states that “contingency funds are not legally available to cover regular benefits.”
The prospect of SNAP benefits running out as a result of the shutdown has become a major concern in the states. Lawmakers from both political parties are blaming the other for the hardship that would ensue. The program helps about 1 in 8 Americans buy groceries.
The document states that the contingency fund is reserved for such things as helping individuals in disaster areas. It cited Tropical Storm Melissa, which could become a major hurricane in the coming days, as an example of why it’s important to have funds available to mobilize quickly in the event of a disaster. The document was obtained by The Associated Press and was first reported by Axios.
The document blames Democrats for the government shutdown that began Oct. 1 and states that November SNAP benefits would be paid on time “if not for Congressional Democrats blocking government funding.”
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries earlier Friday told reporters the administration has the resources to ensure than not a single American goes hungry on Nov. 1. He accused Republicans of “trying to weaponize hunger” and called it unconscionable.
Meanwhile, Democrats in the House and Senate have written Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins requesting that she use the contingency fund to cover the bulk of November benefits.
“Choosing not to ensure SNAP benefits reach those in need this November would be a gross dereliction of your responsibilities to the American people,” said a letter sent Friday by 214 House Democrats.
The latest department guidance on the contingency fund appears to contrast in some respects with the department’s 55-page plan for operations in the event of a shutdown. That plan stated that it’s evident Congress has intended for SNAP operations to continue since the program has been provided with multi-year contingency funds to cover state administrative expenses and to pay for participant benefits should a funding lapse occur in the middle of the fiscal year.
The department guidance that surfaced Friday says the contingency fund is not available to support the current budget year’s benefits because “the appropriations for regular benefits no longer exists.”
The shutdown began when a short-term measure to fund the government failed to advance in the Senate. The current impasse is now the second-longest on record. The administration took steps leading up to the shutdown to ensure SNAP benefits were paid in October, with states and lawmakers looking for guidance from the administration for what would happen next month.
The SNAP program is administered by the states. Officials in Louisiana, Vermont and Virginia pledged Thursday to keep food aid flowing to recipients in their states, even if the federal program is stalled because of the shutdown. Other states have explored using their own funds to prop up the program but have run into technical roadblocks.
Some states have been telling SNAP recipients to be ready for the benefits to stop. Arkansas, for example, is advising recipients to identify food pantries and other groups that might be able to help, and to ask friends and family for aid.
Millions of low-income Floridians who receive food stamp benefits through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), including veterans and the elderly, could see their benefits for November delayed if the U.S. government shutdown stretches into November — and Florida Democrats are calling on Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to take action.
“Nearly 3 million Floridians who rely on SNAP benefits are at risk of going hungry on November 1, including 1.5 million children,” Florida Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried said in a statement.
“Governor DeSantis can stop this, especially as the holidays approach. For the price of shutting down Alligator Alcatraz, he can ensure that Florida families have food on the table this Thanksgiving,” she added, referring to an immigrant detention camp in the Everglades that has faced harsh rebuke and legal challenges from environmental groups and immigrant rights advocates.
Florida is one of at least 25 states across the U.S. that have warned of upcoming delays or missing payments to SNAP beneficiaries if Congress doesn’t agree on a federal budget, Politico reported.
During the last government shutdown in 2018, also under President Trump, the federal government disbursed SNAP benefits early, in order to avoid this potentially-devastating scenario. That’s off the table this time around.
“If the federal government shutdown continues into November, SNAP benefits for the month of November will not be issued until federal funding is restored,” the Florida Department of Children and Families, the state’s administration of the SNAP program, warns on its website.“You may receive notices about your eligible benefit amount, but you will not receive any benefits deposited to your EBT card during this time.”
Florida Rep. Anna Eskamani, a progressive Democrat from Orlando, said it’s “easily” within the power of DeSantis to take action.
“If you are governor, you could easily call for a state of emergency on hunger, on food insecurity, and then allocate your emergency dollars like he’s been doing for immigration,” Dr. Eskamani told Orlando Weekly in a phone call. “It really just comes down to, you know, prioritization.”
Under Florida statutes, a state of emergency “must be declared by executive order or proclamation of the Governor if she or he finds an emergency has occurred or that the occurrence or the threat thereof is imminent.”
DeSantis most recently expanded a state of emergency order pertaining to hurricane preparedness to immigration in order to build the immigrant detention camp in the Florida Everglades, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
Eskamani said that DCF could also request emergency state funding from the Florida Legislature in order to fill the federal funding gap and, consequently, the bellies of low-income adults and families who benefit from the program.
“If state government wanted to cover the gap — we absolutely could.”
Rep. Anna Eskamani
“I would argue that with the type of money that Florida has already spent on immigration enforcement, we absolutely — if we wanted, if state government wanted to cover the gap — we absolutely could,” she said.
U.S. Congressman Maxwell Frost, D-FL, similarly penned a letter to Gov. DeSantis Thursday, as well as Florida House speaker Daniel Perez and Senate president Ben Albritton, urging them to call for a special legislative session to come up with legislation that would fund SNAP benefits for Florida families.
“I am calling on the Trump Administration to continue to provide Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits during the government shutdown. But our residents deserve a plan in the case that President Trump lacks the willingness to deliver,” Frost wrote.
“With the Republican Congress and Republican President sentencing the nearly 42 million Americans in need of SNAP to food insecurity, it is necessary that Florida’s state government does not second this indifference to the suffering and slow violence of that food insecurity,” he added.
A ‘precarious position’
The Florida Department of Children and Families is the state administrator of SNAP, a welfare program funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that is meant to help low-income families afford food. Critics of welfare have disparaged the program as a costly “handout,” while welfare advocates argue that the benefits are insufficient, since they’ve failed to keep up with rising food costs.
The federal government shutdown began Oct. 1 when Congress was unable to pass a federal budget. Democrats are demanding Republicans agree to extend enhanced tax credits that have made health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace more affordable for millions of Americans, while Republicans have denied requests to negotiate until the government reopens.
Without the extension of the ACA subsidies, monthly healthcare premiums for Americans who don’t receive insurance through an employer or other government program could more than double. The cost of employer-provided healthcare is also projected to rise at the fastest rate in 15 years, due in part to expiring federal tax credits.
“At the end of this year, if Congress doesn’t do its job, we are going to see 25 million Americans have their healthcare costs go up anywhere from 50 to 300 percent,” Congressman Frost said at a recent Healthcare Over Billionaires rally at an Orlando union hall.
That could amount to hundreds, or even thousands of dollars more for health insurance per year, according to a KFF analysis.
Yet, if the government shutdown continues, the ability of more than 40 million Americans, including 2.8 million Floridians, to buy food through SNAP is also at risk. “We know supports like food stamps and housing subsidies help many low-wage working families to maintain housing stability,” Martha Are, CEO of the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida, told Orlando Weekly.
“Families that are facing the loss of one or both of these benefits will absolutely be at greater risk of becoming homeless,” she said.
Qualifying households for SNAP include individuals and families earning up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level — equal to $31,300 for an individual or $64,300 for a family of four. In Florida, most SNAP recipients are also subject to stringent work requirements, with the exception of people with disabilities, students, and parents or guardians of young children.
Formerly known as food stamps, SNAP can serve as a lifeline for low-income adults and families who can’t afford to buy groceries (remember the peak cost of eggs?) otherwise. Are worries that the program’s delay could force families into difficult spending decisions. Do I pay my rent this next month, or do I keep my child’s belly full?
Beneficiaries who are already experiencing homelessness, she said, “will be left in the precarious position of trying to access food pantries and soup kitchens to avoid going hungry — time they could have spent looking for work or housing.”
Stephanie Palacios, director of advocacy and government relations for Central Florida’s largest hunger relief organization, Second Harvest, admitted that a freeze on SNAP benefits would “have a huge impact.”
“One in seven Central Floridians is food insecure, and one in six of those individuals are children,” Palacios pointed out in a phone call. “So these are our neighbors, these are families who are working one and two jobs, or seniors who are homebound, or seniors who are on a fixed income and may not be able to adjust to high grocery prices at the grocery store.”
Second Harvest, an affiliate of Feeding America, has contracted with DCF since 2008 to help low-income Floridians apply for SNAP benefits, so they’re well aware of the stakes. The nonprofit distributes enough food for about 300,000 meals per day through their main warehouse on Mercy Drive and through partner agencies throughout the region.
Over the course of the government shutdown, Palacios said their partners have seen “a heightened need already,” but emphasized that they’re here to support Central Floridians, including SNAP recipients, who find themselves in need. “We’re committed to sourcing additional food as funds and community resources become available,” she said.
Will Gov. DeSantis act?
The Executive Office of the Governor, when asked about the possibility of a state of emergency over the issue, simply told Orlando Weekly that staff had forwarded our questions to DCF. Florida DCF did not respond to our request for comment on whether they planned to request emergency state funding in time for publication.
The SNAP program works by delivering benefits electronically to recipients onto an EBT card. Florida DCF notes that there “are no anticipated impacts” to October benefits.
The department will also continue to process and accept new applications, even if the government shutdown — the second-longest in U.S. history so far — continues.
At least 750,000 of the federal government’s 2.1 million workers, meanwhile, have been furloughed without pay, as hundreds of thousands of others — save for a few Trump-favored exceptions — have been forced to continue working, also unpaid. In Central Florida, tens of thousands of federal workers are impacted.
“The Trump Administration wants every federal worker to be paid — that’s why we have repeatedly urged the Democrats to reopen the government and stop hurting the American people,” a White House spokesperson told the Washington Post, in response to criticism over Trump authorizing funding to pay some, but not all, federal employees during the shutdown.
“The Trump Administration is working day and night to mitigate the pain Democrats are causing — including by paying the troops and funding food assistance for women and children,” the spokesperson claimed.
According to the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, more than half of Florida’s SNAP participants are in families with children, and nearly three-quarters (74 percent) have a total household income below 100 percent of the federal poverty level, equal to $32,150 for a family of four.
Where to find help
Second Harvest has an online tool for Central Florida residents who are searching for a nearby food pantry. Here’s what you can do to find a food pantry (and hours of operation) near you:
The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority is collecting nonperishable food items and gift cards at MCO and the Orlando Executive Airport this week
An official statement from the airport states that contingency plans are in place should there be a “dramatic decrease” in TSA officers showing up to work
Some Florida Republicans said Wednesday they’ll have their pay withheld or, in some cases, donate it
If the federal government shutdown continues, millions of low-income Americans could lose access to a monthly benefit that pays for food.
About 42 million people receive money through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, sometimes called food stamps. The U.S. Agriculture Department told states in an Oct. 10 letter that if the shutdown continues, the program will run out of money to pay for benefits in November.
The Trump administration blamed Democrats, with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins repeating a false health care talking point Oct. 16 on X: “Democrats are putting free health care for illegal aliens and their political agenda ahead of food security for American families. Shameful.”
The government shutdown stems from disagreements between Democrats, who want to extend expiring enhanced subsidies for the Affordable Care Act as part of approving continued federal funding, and Republicans, who want to extend federal funding first, before negotiating over whether or how to extend the ACA subsidies.
Participants receive an average individual monthly benefit of about $190, or $356 per household. Recipients can use the benefits to buy fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy products, bread and other foods. The majority of SNAP households live in poverty.
Lawmakers and social media users have made several statements about SNAP with varying degrees of accuracy about the shutdown or the Republican tax and spending law that Trump signed in July. Here’s a closer look.
Social media posts say food stamps will disappear Nov 1.
“Let that sink in — just in time for the cold season and the month of giving thanks,” said one Instagram post.
That could happen for millions of people. But it might not happen for all of them, and it could happen throughout the month of November because the monthly date when people receive their benefits varies by state.
The Trump administration could use SNAP’s contingency fund to pay for nearly two-thirds of a full month of benefits, or it could transfer other Agriculture Department funds, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal think tank. The administration has said it has found funding to continue the Women, Infants and Children program, another food program for low-income families.
The Agriculture Department’s funding lapse plan says SNAP “shall continue operations during a lapse in appropriations, subject to the availability of funding.”
The Agriculture Department’s letter told states to hold off on steps that would lead to people receiving their November benefits. Federal regulations require that reductions be made in a way that higher-income recipients lose more benefits than the lowest-income recipients.
We asked administration officials for more detail but received no response to our questions.
Many state officials including in Illinois,New York, North Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin said if the shutdown continues, participants might not or will not receive benefits in November. A spokesperson for the Florida Department of Children and Families told PolitiFact that if the shutdown continues into November, benefits will not be issued.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., said Oct. 22 that he will deploy the California National Guard and California Volunteers, a state office, to support food banks and provide $80 million in state money.
“Empty cupboards and stomachs are not abstract outcomes,” Gov. Tony Evers, D-Wis., told Rollins in an Oct. 22 letter. “They are the very real and near consequences of the dysfunction in Washington. These are also consequences you can prevent today.”
Meanwhile, food banks across the country have taken a hit from other Trump administration policies. ProPublica reported Oct. 3 that in the spring the administration cut $500 million in deliveries through The Emergency Food Assistance Program, which provides food to state distribution agencies.
“We are not cutting” SNAP.
— House Speaker Mike Johnson on “Face the Nation,” May 25
Johnson spoke after the House passed a GOP-backed bill, known at the time as the One Big Beautiful Bill, that included many of Trump’s policy priorities.
The Congressional Budget Office, Congress’ nonpartisan number-crunching arm, estimated in May that 3.2 million fewer people per month on average would receive benefits over the next nine years based on the bill’s changes to work requirements and restrictions on states’ ability to waive the work requirements in areas with high unemployment.
A more recent August CBO analysis estimated that the changes would reduce participation in SNAP by roughly 2.4 million people.
“Nearly 25 cents of every $1 spent via SNAP goes to farmers and ranchers.”
— Wisconsin state Rep. Francesca Hong, D-Madison, in a June 12 X post
In a series of X posts, Hong said it wouldn’t be only families receiving food aid that would be hurt by the legislation.
A chart published earlier this year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service shows that in 2023, farm establishments made 24.3 cents for every dollar spent on food at home, including at grocery stores and supermarkets.
“About 20% of households with veterans rely upon” SNAP.
— House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y, in a May 8 press conference
An April 2 study found that 8% of veterans rely on SNAP benefits. No state had a share higher than 14%. Studies with data from a few years earlier show rates from 4.9% to 6.6%.
Chief Correspondent Louis Jacobson, Staff Writer Loreben Tuquero and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Madeline Heim contributed to this article.
The U.S. Capitol building on Feb. 11, 2024, in Washington, D.C.
Samuel Corum
Getty Images/TNS
Nearly 3.47 million Texans will go without food assistance next month if the federal government shutdown continues past Monday.
Texas Health and Human Services announced that Texans who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for help buying groceries will not receive their benefits if the shutdown continues past Oct. 27.
“SNAP has funding available for benefits and operations through the month of October,” according to a letter written by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service to state agencies. “However, if the current lapse in appropriations continues, there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits for approximately 42 million individuals across the Nation.”
The federal government has been shut down since Oct. 1.
Benefits provided by other programs, like WIC, TANF, Medicaid and CHIP, are not affected by the government shutdown, according to Texas Health and Human Services.
Ciara McCarthy covers health and wellness as part of the Star-Telegram’s Crossroads Lab. She came to Fort Worth after three years in Victoria, Texas, where she worked at the Victoria Advocate. Ciara is focused on equipping people and communities with information they need to make decisions about their lives and well-being. Please reach out with your questions about public health or the health care system. Email cmccarthy@star-telegram.com or call or text 817-203-4391.
Cardi Btook to X Spaces on Oct. 18 to call out Donald Trump and his administration as the federal government shutdown continues. With funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the food stamp program, expected to run out in two weeks, the rapper issued a warning about the devastating impact the situation could have on millions of Americans, especially with Thanksgiving around the corner.
“People are complaining that they have taken away food stamps. Mind you, Thanksgiving is next month,” Cardi B said of SNAP, which provides monthly benefits to help Americans in need buy groceries.
“No turkey for some of y’all, very interesting. And I find this so funny, because these are the type of things that I was trying to warn y’all that’s gonna happen in the Trump administration. But y’all didn’t care. All y’all cared about is that I called them ‘Shrunk,’” the rapper continued, referencing ridicule she received for calling Trump a name during her 2024 Kamala Harris rally speech in Milwaukee.
Food stamps under threat amid government shutdown.
Source: Justin Sullivan / Getty
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According to CNN, roughly 42 million peoplecould face critical food assistance delays in November if the government shutdown continues. It’s unclear whether the Trump administration will step in to fund SNAP as it has with other priorities.
The program is projected to run out of money in two weeks, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told reporters at the White House on Thursday, according to CNN. She also posted about the impending challenges on X, blaming Democrats for “putting free healthcare for illegal aliens and their political agenda ahead of food security for American families.”
The funding crisis is already forcing 17 states to stop accepting new SNAP applications, since their systems would otherwise require combining partial October payments with November’s benefits. Other states, which can separate the two months, are continuing to provide October assistance to new enrollees.
Despite her wealth, Cardi B noted that the rising cost of living—driven in part by Trump’s tariffs—has hit her hard as well.
“The taxes of living have become high for every goddamn thing; everything has become high,” she added. As an example, Cardi pointed to the steep costs she faces when buying imported goods. She explained that when she orders a piece of custom furniture from Italy, Trump-imposed tariffs add an extra $15,000 to the bill.
“Everything been rising up, from the prices of f–king Fashion Nova and Shein to Chanel and all that s–t because the tariffs are so f–king expensive!”
SNAP could face further cuts even after the shutdown ends.
Even after the shutdown is resolved, SNAP faces additional threats to its funding because of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” passed in July. The massive tax and spending measure, signed into law on July 4, is expected to drastically reduce the program’s budget. The bill will slashabout $186 billion from SNAP through 2034, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. Experts warn that these cuts and cost shifts to states will leave millions of Americans without some or all of the assistance they need to afford food.
“For decades, SNAP has been there for low-income families, and as a result, we have largely eliminated severe hunger and malnutrition in this country,” Katie Bergh, senior policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, told CNBC’s Make It in August. “But that’s not a guarantee without the support that this program provides to help low-income families afford groceries,” Bergh added.
What do you think of Cardi B calling out Trump over SNAP?
Millions of people who receive food stamps could soon see smaller benefits or even get kicked out of the program due to changes that are starting to roll out from the Republicans’ “big, beautiful” tax and spending law, according to several analyses from the federal government and public policy think tanks.
About 2.4 million people, or about 6% of enrollees, could lose access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), in an average month, because of the new law’s changes, which include stricter work requirements, the Congressional Budget Office estimated last month.
Millions more will see their monthly benefit amounts shrink because of other changes mandated by the law, such as a new restrictions on how an individual’s benefits are calculated, it added. The total pool of people who will either be cut off from SNAP or see smaller monthly benefits could reach 22.3 million U.S. families, according to a July analysis from the Urban Institute.
About 42 million individuals in 22.3 million households received food stamps in 2023, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report on the program.
While SNAP is funded by the USDA, every U.S. state is in charge of administering the program to its residents, with those administrative costs split between the federal and state governments. Some states are already beginning to implement some of the new law’s food stamp restrictions, such as Pennsylvania, which is mandating the stricter work rules starting Nov. 1.
The changes are arriving at a precarious time for many, with grocery costs continuing to rise and poverty rates inching higher for senior citizens and Black Americans, according to new Census data. Anti-hunger advocates warn that reduced SNAP benefits could worsen food insecurity, undermining one of the nation’s most effective safety nets credited with lifting 3.6 million people out of poverty last year, according to U.S. Census data.
“We are deeply concerned that the cuts to SNAP will lead to an increase in hunger,” Carolyn Vega, associate director of policy analysis for Share Our Strength, an anti-hunger nonprofit, told CBS MoneyWatch. “You are looking at households that don’t have a lot of extra wiggle room in their budget, so that makes every SNAP dollar very precious in extending that food budget.”
Tracking the impact of those SNAP cuts on food insecurity as the changes unfurl over the coming months and years may be difficult, given the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Sept. 20 announcement that it is halting its annual Household Food Security Report, which measures whether American families have access to healthy food.
The USDA said it is nixing the report because it is “redundant, costly, politicized and extraneous” and leads to “fear mongering.” But anti-hunger advocates say scrapping the report could ultimately obscure the impact of the Republicans’ cuts to the food stamp program.
“I don’t see how it’s redundant — the USDA puts out the only report on food insecurity,” Vega said. “It just indicates to me that they don’t want to see the results of the reconciliation bill,” referring to the Republican’s “big, beautiful” tax and spending law.
The USDA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about that claim.
New work requirements
New work requirements for SNAP recipients are taking effect as the labor market stalls, raising the risk that more people could lose access to food stamps under the stricter rules mandated by the Republican law, advocates say.
“It’s a tough workforce right now, and the work requirements come without any support,” Gina Plata-Nino, a food stamp expert at the anti-hunger advocacy group Food Research & Action Center, told CBS MoneyWatch. “Our most vulnerable will have even less access to resources.”
The new work rules expand what the federal government considers so-called “able-bodied adults without dependents,” or ABAWDs, who are adults without young children who must prove they are either working, volunteering or engaged in an education or training program for at least 20 hours a week to qualify for food stamps.
Previously, the work requirements only applied to people between 18 to 54 years old, but the new law pushes that to age 64. Additionally, people who are former foster youth between 18 to 24 years old, veterans or homeless are no longer exempt from the work requirements, as they were previously.
People who don’t meet the work requirements will be limited to receiving food stamps for three months within a three-year period.
“Just off the bat, those are veterans, youths aging out of foster care — think about what it means to be unhoused, trying to get a job when you don’t have a place to shower,” Plata-Nino said. “Again, these populations are going to be worse off.”
Work requirements have been championed by Republican lawmakers because they say the rules encourage people to be gainfully employed or engaged in the community in exchange for food aid.
But anti-hunger advocates argue the rules often bump people off the program because they may face difficulties in filing paperwork. Others point out that low-income workers may struggle to get enough hours from their employers to meet the new federal requirements, especially given the proliferation of “just in time” scheduling, which slots workers into short shifts to reduce costs for employers.
Prior to the changes, most SNAP recipients who were required to work were doing so, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.
Stricter aid calculations
Under the new GOP tax and spending law, there are other changes going into the SNAP program that could reduce benefits for millions.
For instance, SNAP applicants can deduct their utility costs from their incomes when calculating their benefits, which can help to increase their food-stamp allotments. But the new law now prevents food-stamp recipients from counting internet expenses as part of their household costs when determining benefits. That change went into effect as soon as the law was signed on July 4 by President Trump.
“Roughly 65% of participating households will see their benefit drop by an average of $10 a month” because of the exclusion in using internet costs to calculate benefits, Vega said.
“It’s a relatively small amount but for a household facing rising grocery cost and facing tough decisions, $10 can make a difference,” she added.
Longer-term, there are additional changes that could strain states’ ability to provide food stamps, such as a shift in fiscal year 2027 requiring that states cover 75% of administrative costs, up from 50% now. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, states with high error rates — such as over- and underpayments of SNAP benefits — will also need to provide more funding for the program, starting in 2028.
One concern, according to Vega, is whether states will have the financial resources to cover those additional costs.
“It’s uncharted territory,” she said. “We do worry some states might decide they can’t take that level of liability and won’t participate in SNAP.”
Aimee Picchi is the associate managing editor for CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and personal finance. She previously worked at Bloomberg News and has written for national news outlets including USA Today and Consumer Reports.
A federal program that provides food assistance to more than 40 million Americans has been scaled back. The Congressional Budget Office estimates 2.4 million fewer people will now qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, under President Trump’s tax and spending plan. Jo Ling Kent has details.
