Hunger is Rising—and SNAP Cuts Will Make It Worse

In 2022, Second Harvest’s network of 332 food pantries across Northwest North Carolina served an average of 35,300 people per month – children, seniors, veterans, families–our neighbors. From late 2023 through May, we assisted 78,400 on average each month. We are in a sustained hunger crisis in our communities. Second Harvest is doing all we can to respond to this historic level of requests for food assistance, but it is increasingly difficult. And our Congressional representatives are on the verge of making it almost impossible.

In the US House of Representatives, 11 out of 15 members of the North Carolina delegation voted to reduce $300 billion dollars in food assistance to vulnerable families through cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and to requiring states to shoulder millions of dollars in new costs they will not be able to absorb.  

SNAP – still often called “food stamps” – provides NINE meals for every ONE meal that food banks, like Second Harvest, can provide. With support from our community, Second Harvest provided nearly 40 million meals across our region. If SNAP were cut by just 10%, we would need to need to provide 28 million more meals to fill the gap—jumping from 40 to 68 million meals annually. That’s not possible.

The rationale for these mass reductions is alleged abuse in the program and assistance going to “able-bodied people who are not working.” These statements are inflammatory and distractions from the truth of who is served and the reality of the devastation proposed action will create – not only for the children, seniors, veterans, and families who will be directly impacted, but our farmers and our local communities. 

SNAP is effective and impactful. It is well documented that children who receive SNAP are more likely to graduate high school and have better health as adults. Older adults receiving SNAP are hospitalized less and require fewer costly long-term care services. SNAP-Ed, which the House wants to eliminate, delivers nutrition education and healthy-eating support to over 130,000 North Carolinians every year. For every $1 invested in SNAP-Ed activities, up to $9.54 can be saved in future healthcare costs.

SNAP is essential. Economically, next year alone, proposed SNAP changes will result in a loss of $558 million to North Carolina’s GDP and 4,700 NC jobs across multiple sectors including farming, retail, and food distribution.

Supporters of the House bill claim these cuts are needed to reduce fraud or prevent “able-bodied people who don’t want to work” from abusing the system. These are inflammatory distractions from reality.

The truth is that most SNAP recipients are children, seniors, people with disabilities, and working families. And according to the Food Industry Association, most fraud is not committed by participants but by criminals exploiting outdated systems. Cutting benefits will not fix that. Modernizing the system will.

Here is the reality about the impact of the House’s budget bill.

• 375,000 of our neighbors will lose food assistance and hunger in our communities will skyrocket to heights never experienced in our lifetimes.

• $700 million of costs will be pushed to our state which is certainly too much for the General Assembly to fill – resulting in SNAP being scaled back even more – creating even greater need.

• Local economies will lose millions of dollars in economic activity (every $1 of SNAP spent provides an economic benefit to local communities of $1.50).

• Grocery stores will close or significantly reduce their hours in rural communities and reduce offerings in all communities.

• American farmers will be hurt at levels that haven’t even been evaluated (up to 80% of the food SNAP purchases being produce, meats, dairy, and products made with various grains sourced from American farmers).

The proposed changes to SNAP will make our communities weaker - creating more desperate families, decreasing the ability of children to succeed in school, requiring seniors to stop taking medicine just so they can put food on their tables, translating into layoffs at grocery retailers, and, ultimately, forcing farms across the country to foreclose. Decisions have consequences.

The House’s budget assures a future where more children and seniors go hungry, farmers’ livelihoods are diminished, and local economies are damaged. Within the next two weeks, the Senate will take up a measure, through a little used political action referred to as Budget Reconciliation. Now is the time to let Senator Tillis and Senator Budd know that you want a different future for North Carolina – one where we are proud to look at our families and loved ones in the eye and let them know that we are doing all we can do to uplift our neighbors and build a stronger North Carolina.

We urge every North Carolinian to contact Senator Thom Tillis and Senator Ted Budd: 202.224.3154 today. Call Senators Thom Tillis, 202.224.6342 and Senator Ted Budd, 202.224.3154. Ask them to:

• Vote NO on Budget Reconciliation.

• Reject cuts to SNAP and elimination of SNAP-Ed.

• Support a smarter, more strategic path forward that balances wise budgeting and thoughtful, fair tax policy – one with integrity with humanity that lifts our communities instead of tearing them down.

  
  

The stakes are too high to stay silent. This is our moment to say: North Carolina can do better. We must.