Major cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) went into effect Sept. 2. Part of the Trump administration’s reconciliation package, the move cuts SNAP funding by roughly 20% and will result in more than 22 million families losing some or all of their benefits, according to estimates by social and economic policy research nonprofit Urban Institute. On average, families stand to lose $146 per month in SNAP support. 

The bill instates new employment requirements for SNAP beneficiaries and offloads hefty administration and operation costs from the federal government onto states. Anticipated strains on state budgets are likely to further limit their capacity to provide benefits, meaning that many states might have to cut SNAP benefits or eliminate them entirely. 

Local farms and community food banks have been witnessing the effects of rising food insecurity. Tasked with distributing low- or no-cost meals and groceries to families in need, food banks and pantries have experienced rising numbers of community members seeking their services long before changes to SNAP went into effect. These newly implemented cuts are likely to further burden these organizations as they wrestle with already strained resources. 

In Washington, D.C., staff at Bread for the City, a food distribution organization, witnessed an unprecedented surge in visitors to their weekly farmers market this summer. 

“We still commit to making sure we give out a good amount for folks, but we did, in July, have one week where we ran out,” said Trazy Collins, the director of food and clothing for Bread for the City. “We saw more folks than we expected to see and just had brought out our normal amount of produce. We’ve never had that happen before where we ran completely out of produce at a farmers market.”

In addition to its weekly farmers market, Bread for the City operates two pantries, both of which allow clients to shop monthly from a wide variety of fresh produce. The group also partners with DoorDash for a delivery program servicing community members who are homebound. Similar to their farmers market, Collins has also noted a substantial rise in community members relying on their food pantries. Last July, the organization distributed roughly 200,000 meals; this July, they’ve distributed nearly 300,000. 

According to data from the Urban Institute, 76,000 families in the District of Columbia are expected to lose some or all of their SNAP benefits with the newly implemented cuts. Collins called these numbers—which only compounded this summer’s influx—devastating. 

Advocates are particularly troubled by the loss of SNAP coverage, as this also impacts people’s ability to access other benefits and relief programs. For instance, children from households that receive SNAP benefits are automatically enrolled in free school lunch programs. 

Trouble sourcing food

For food banks and pantries like Bread for the City, their ability to serve the growing number of people in need of assistance is further complicated by cuts to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the elimination of programs that facilitated partnerships between food banks and local farms. Local farms have long been a crucial source of produce for food distribution organizations. 

Collins noted that Capital Area Food Bank, part of a nationwide network of 200 food banks called Feeding America—from which Bread for the City sources much of its food—has also undergone federal cuts, which have in turn impacted the pantry’s ability to access wholesale products at affordable prices. Severe cuts to the The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which provides state-based food distributing agencies with nutritional, high-quality foods, have also limited Bread for the City’s capacity. 

“Normally we can get some of our meats [and] canned items through TEFAP, [but] those are things we have had to purchase in the last month, and that has exceeded our budget,” Collins said. “If the need continues to go up and we continue to not be able to source food very easily and very cheaply, we’re going to come to an impasse at some point. That sounds really scary for an organization that has always been able to provide the most, meet everybody’s needs, and not turn anyone away.”

Philabundance, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit food bank and advocacy organization, is also facing the strain of TEFAP cuts as well as the elimination of the USDA’s Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) Cooperative Agreement Program. 

“[LFPA] was a critical source of funding for us and a significant loss to our food purchasing budget. That program enabled us to purchase food from local Pennsylvania farmers,” Callie Perrone, Philabundance’s government affairs manager, told Prism. “So it was good for us, it was good for the people we serve, and it’s good for our agricultural economy and our farmers.” 

“We’re facing these losses to our funding at a time when food insecurity has already been on the rise,” she continued, “and this summer, we [were] hit with these changes to SNAP, which we know are going to lead to significantly more need.” 

The significance of losing SNAP

Serving nine counties across Philadelphia, southern New Jersey, and Delaware, Philabundance takes a two-pronged approach to food insecurity: relieve hunger in the present and end hunger in the long run. The organization engages in food collection and distributes produce to more than 300 community partners, including shelters, nonprofits, schools, and senior citizen centers. Philabundance’s Community Kitchen, located in North Philadelphia, also provides culinary training to community members. The program serves as both a workforce development opportunity and a space to produce ready-to-eat meals that are distributed to local pantries. This past year, Perrone said the kitchen prepared 450,000 meals. 

Perrone noted that households would be more immediately impacted by the new employment requirements for SNAP benefits. The law expands work requirements to at least 20 hours per week to individuals ages 55 to 64, veterans, and parents of minors who are over 14 years old. Those groups were previously exempt from those work requirements in order to receive sustained SNAP benefits. 

Work requirements don’t increase employment—they just increase hunger.

Callie Perrone, Philabundance government affairs manager

“Work requirements don’t increase employment—they just increase hunger,” Perrone said, adding that most people on SNAP who can work do. “It’s not a work requirement. It’s really a paperwork requirement. It’s adding barriers and red tape and making it harder for people who would be eligible to actually continue to get their benefits because they’re jumping through too many hoops.”

Perrone said that when SNAP benefits are cut, community members look immediately to local food banks and pantries for relief. She witnessed as much when pandemic-era SNAP increases came to an end. While Philabundance serves about 135,000 people per week, Perrone and other experts and advocates are adamant that what local organizations can do pales in comparison to the level of support that SNAP provides.

“SNAP is our No. 1 defense against hunger,” Perrone said. For every meal food banks provide, SNAP provides nine.

“There is no way for food banks to reasonably make up for a benefits loss of this magnitude,” Perrone said. “SNAP and food banks need to work hand in hand for our neighbors to be fed, and it is absolutely unrealistic to assume that food banks are able to make up the gap.” 

A longstanding problem

While attention has been returning to food insecurity, advocates note that the cuts only underscore long-standing issues. Food insecurity has been on the rise due to the increased cost of living and the termination of pandemic-era relief programs. According to Feeding America’s recently released “Map the Meal Gap” report for Pennsylvania, about 1.7 million residents faced food insecurity in 2023, including about 475,000 children and 227,000 seniors. Of these, about 170,000 were newly food insecure in 2023, including about 39,000 children. Rates of food insecurity have especially risen among children.

“We’re always saying the numbers are already moving in the wrong direction,” said Perrone. “Food insecurity is unacceptable as is, but we fear that right now, these numbers are only going to get higher.”

Staff across Phialbudnance’s network of community partners have noticed a significant increase in families with children, senior citizens, and individuals in dual-income households utilizing their services. Meanwhile, Perrone and her team have noticed fewer undocumented community members, which she believes is due to fears of encountering Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. 

Though Bread for the City in D.C. has noticed a rise in both Black and Latinx residents facing food insecurity who are turning to both of its local pantries, the group also acknowledged the chilling effect that threats of ICE crackdowns pose. Collins said the group’s immigration attorneys have been present on site to offer an additional layer of protection and reassurance to patrons.  

While members of the general public often only think about donating to food pantries during the holiday season, staff at local food banks and grassroots food distribution sites say they are in need of extensive support now. Collins noted that while food and clothing—especially items for the fall and winter—are always welcome, monetary donations as well as the gift of time through volunteering are most useful. 

“We have been here for the community for 50 years, nothing is changing,” said Collins. “I often tell folks we’re going to be here until they kick us out.”

Meanwhile, Philabundance is directing energy toward ramping up fundraising in the hopes of making up for these new funding shortfalls. Staff is also launching an information campaign to keep residents informed of these new changes to SNAP benefits and what they mean for individual households. 

“We can do everything we can to meet this moment, but the reality is, food banks can’t do it alone,” said Perrone. “We need food banks working hand in hand with strong government policies. We need a strong SNAP program in order to really meet the need in our country.”

Editorial Team:
Sahar Fatima, Lead Editor
Carolyn Copeland, Top Editor
Rashmee Kumar, Copy Editor