WS Chronicle

As the Senate advances its budget plan, Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina continues to warn that proposed deep cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would worsen hunger in every community and push new financial burdens onto North Carolina taxpayers, grocery stores, farmers, hospitals and local businesses. 

Over the weekend, the Senate removed an explicit mandate requiring states to pay a share of SNAP benefit costs, after the Byrd Rule blocked it from the budget framework. However, new reports confirm Senate leaders are now pursuing alternative strategies to achieve the same cost shifts and deep SNAP cuts – totaling $210 to $300 billion nationwide – threatening food assistance for more than 1.4 million North Carolinians, including children, seniors, veterans and working families. 

“These cuts will not make SNAP more efficient, put families back to work, or support Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) goals; they will push more families into crisis while shifting new costs to our hospitals, local grocers and taxpayers,” said Eric Aft, CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina. “SNAP is a proven investment that keeps our communities strong – and cutting it at these levels will do great harm.” 

Proposed SNAP cuts and cost shifts to the states will result in decreased food assistance for some of our most vulnerable populations,” added Aft. “Food banks will be the next line of response if this comes to fruition – and we will not be able to fill the gap. Families will be forced to use their scarce resources to buy highly processed, unhealthy food, which directly undermines MAHA goals. The bottom line is: if these cuts are made, we will see more hungry children, seniors and families today – and, in the near future, a population with greater health problems and a workforce less prepared to keep our communities’ economies strong.” 

If enacted, these cuts could: 

*Increase food insecurity and healthcare costs for preventable diet-related illnesses. 

*Hurt local grocery stores and farmers who rely on SNAP spending to stay in business. 

*Force states to make impossible trade-offs in budgets for education, public safety and healthcare. 

Second Harvest calls on North Carolinians to contact Senators Ted Budd and Thom Tillis and urge them to vote NO on harmful SNAP cuts and to protect vital nutrition assistance for families, children and local economies.