By Faye Dorman
Elm Staff Writer
As the government shutdown persists, the effects have begun to negatively impact some of the most competent and well-functioning systems in America’s bureaucratic nightmare: namely, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.
While organizations struggle to find ways to lessen the blow across the country, there are people working to help right here in Chestertown.
Washington College’s Center for Environment and Society recently announced that together with the AVI Dining Hall Staff, they would be packaging leftovers from meals to be available to anyone for free in George’s Free Store, the campus food and toiletry pantry. The food will be packaged after meals on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and kept refrigerated for 48 hours before being disposed of. George’s Free Store is not just available to students, but to community members who may already be coming to campus for meals through community events, and this new initiative could be the difference between someone having enough food for the week, and someone going hungry.
However, try as they might, efforts such as CES’s aren’t enough to replace the scope of the benefits from SNAP.
According to the USDA, SNAP is a benefits program that exists to help supplement lower income families’ grocery budgets in order for individuals to buy a healthier robust diet. The benefits are designed to prevent families from choosing between having fresh, healthy foods and having enough food in general to feed everyone in a household. SNAP also has built in guidelines and restrictions to prevent the use of benefits towards non-essentials such as alcohol or cigarettes. While SNAP is not perfect, considering that some restrictions might seem impeding to individuals who rely heavily on the benefits for their grocery runs, the program does what it set out to do: help feed the people of America.
Yet, as the budgets for the next fiscal year continue to crash and burn before they are published, SNAP found itself on the chopping block as funds begin to dwindle.
The USDA announced in late October that SNAP benefits would be exhausted by Nov. 1, leaving nearly 42 million people without the subsidiary allowing them to feed themselves and their loved ones. President Donald Trump also weighed in on the situation, unsurprisingly, to announce that he would not be putting additional funding towards SNAP and would let the funds completely vanish from the hands of Americans.
This sparked a back and forth as the federal courts got involved, mandating that Trump must at least provide partial funding to keep the program running since the funds to do so exist, even if they were emergency funds. While partial funding would not solve the problem entirely, it could help some people get back on their feet.
However, nothing is ever that simple with the 47th president of the United States.
According to The Independent, Trump “stated his intent to defy the court order,” Judge Jack McConnell said, as well as refused to adjust any kind of administrative issues that could arise in this scenario. This led to Judge McConnell releasing the verdict that the government only had until Nov. 7 to fully fund the SNAP benefits for November, a verdict which was swiftly motioned for appeal by the ever-busy lawyers of the Trump administration.
Despite the back and forth, SNAP benefits have not magically reappeared for the people that rely on them, leaving many searching for solutions.
According to the Washington Post, roughly 680,000 people in the state of Maryland alone use SNAP to ensure their food security. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore announced that the state government was going to cover a portion of the $123 million monthly cost of SNAP in an attempt to fill the gaping hole caused by the loss. Roughly $62 million was authorized to be spent on SNAP for the month of November, with an additional $10 million allocated too food banks across the state in an attempt to cushion the blow for those experiencing SNAP delays.
Maryland is not alone in the action to support SNAP.
According to CBS News, 24 other states, as well as the District of Columbia, have started a lawsuit against Trump over the lack of funding. Claiming that cutting funding is unlawful and putting millions of Americans at risk during a crucial time for food shortages in impoverished areas, the states are asking the judge to direct the USDA to fulfill the SNAP benefits using contingency funds.
On Nov. 9, the U.S. Senate reached a tentative agreement that would reopen the federal government until Jan. 30, 2026, and allow three bills to be passed to fund the Department of Agriculture, the FDA, and the VA through the end of next year, according to USA Today. The agreement will also fully fund SNAP through next September.
Even when things might seem bleak, it’s important to remember that there are people throughout every community that are ready and willing to lend a hand to those in need.
Afterall, not everyone is a politician.
Photo Caption: Uncertainty regarding SNAP benefits continues amid government shutdown
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons