‘SNAP doesn’t just give away money, it powers our economy.’
X
‘SNAP doesn’t just give away money, it powers our economy.’
May 7, 2025
May 7, 2025 – At a press conference on Capitol Hill today, Democrats on the House Agriculture Committee railed against Republican plans to cut spending on food aid, emphasizing that funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) supports hungry families as well as farmers, grocery workers, truckers, and food manufacturers.
Expand your understanding of food systems as a Civil Eats member. Enjoy unlimited access to our groundbreaking reporting, engage with experts, and connect with a community of changemakers.
Already a member?
Login
“SNAP doesn’t just give away money, it powers our economy,” said Representative Nikki Budzinski (D-Illinois), who spoke along with Ranking Member Angie Craig (D-Minnesota) and Representatives Shontel Brown (D-Ohio) and Jahana Hayes (D-Connecticut).
After the lawmakers spoke, they invited others who rely on SNAP to share their stories. Yolanda Gordon, a U.S. Army veteran, and Meghan Hullinger, a single mother, both spoke about how SNAP benefits had helped them get through difficult times. Two farmers, Kat Becker from Wisconsin, and Carah Ronan from Montana, spoke about how SNAP dollars support their farms. “Farms and nutrition go hand-in-hand,” said Ronan, after detailing how the funds help her provide fresh local produce, eggs, and meat to her community. “Let’s keep it that way.”
The event was one of many that Democrats and anti-hunger advocates organized this week in advance of the Agriculture Committee’s meeting to lay out the details of what they plan to cut, scheduled for next week. While the Republicans who lead the committee are more moderate than others in the party and have resisted deeper cuts to SNAP, the far-right wing of the party appears to be winning the fight. Politico reported yesterday that the House is still expected to make $230 billion in cuts as a part of the party’s plan to fund tax cuts for higher-income Americans.
“There is nothing fiscally responsible about making more people hungry and more people suffer just to hand out billionaire tax cuts,” Brown said at the conference.
The Wall Street Journal editorial board characterized some of the Republicans’ plans to slash spending—like shifting costs to states and tightening rules around work requirements—as common-sense ways to “fix the dysfunctional federal food assistance program.” However, earlier in the week, at the Food Research and Action Center’s Anti-Hunger Food Policy Conference, a recurring message was that all of those changes would effectively mean fewer people have access to SNAP.
“No one is staying home for $6 a day,” said Itzul Gutierrez, the senior policy advocate for the California Association of Food Banks, responding to a common Republican talking point that more work requirements are necessary to prevent people from taking advantage of SNAP benefits, on one panel. Average benefits are about $6 per day. “That is all part of the effort to kick people off SNAP.”
On Tuesday, the food bank operators and anti-hunger advocates who came to D.C. from across the country rallied at the Capitol and then spent the day meeting with members of Congress to share that argument with legislators. (Link to this post.)
July 30, 2025
From Oklahoma to D.C., a food activist works to ensure that communities can protect their food systems and their future.
Leave a Comment