Emergency action needed to protect SNAP and Medicaid

Second Harvest
2 days ago
2 min read

Devastating SNAP and Medicaid cuts have passed the Senate, but there’s still time to stop this bill from passing through the House!

We’re at a critical turning point right now.

Early this afternoon, the Senate passed a bill that slashes funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid, taking up to 9 billion meals off the table annually for our neighbors facing hunger and ending health care coverage for 11.8 million people by 2034.

Losing food and health care benefits at the same time would be catastrophic for our neighbors, especially people in rural areas.

But it’s not too late.

The House of Representatives still has a chance to stop these devastating changes before they become a reality—protecting the policies that support families and strengthen communities.

For over 50 years, SNAP and Medicaid have been cornerstones of our nation's commitment to ensuring people can afford groceries and have access to health care. If this bill passes, we’ll see the most extreme cuts to these programs in history.

The bill proposes drastic changes, including:

Forcing states to absorb SNAP costs. For North Carolina, this could be as much as $430 million annually. If North Carolina is unable to absorb this cost shift, SNAP would be eliminated – leaving 1.4 million people without this vital support.
Adding more barriers to receiving SNAP benefits that increase paperwork requirements that can lead to lost benefits, especially for groups like seniors.

More than 1.4 million residents of North Carolina, including millions of children, seniors, veterans, and working families rely on SNAP to afford groceries, and more than 3.2 million North Carolinians depend on Medicaid for health care.

The very possible reality of these cuts will result in:

More children, seniors, and veterans going hungry. While the NC food banks provided over 250 million meals in the past year; SNAP provided 9 times that many, so there is no way the private sector can compensate for significant cuts to SNAP.
Families will be forced to rely on cheaper, less nutritious food—undermining efforts to make America healthier and creating more health challenges and a weaker workforce for the future.
Jobs being lost in our grocery retailers.
The potential closure of rural hospitals in multiple areas of the state.
Diminished markets for American farmers.
Increased state and local taxes.