Trump Administration Threatens to Deprive More than 689 Thousand People – and Over 4,400 Food Retailers – in Wisconsin Alone of $112.9 Million in Food Payments Per Month Due to Shutdown
Hunger Leader Calls for Senators Johnson and Baldwin to Pressure White House and G.O.P. Congressional Leaders to End the Shutdown with a Bipartisan Budget Deal that Restores Healthcare Support in order to Limit Increasing U.S. Hunger
In Wisconsin, more than one in ten residents – over 11.6% – rely on SNAP.
Nearly 42 million Americans – including more than 689 thousand in Wisconsin alone – are at imminent risk of losing access to sufficient food as soon as November if the federal shutdown lasts one week longer. Trump’s Department of Agriculture just informed New York and other states that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as Food Stamps) – which is, by far, the largest domestic anti-hunger program – will not be able to make November payments if the shutdown does not end very soon.
Nationwide, 41.7 million Americans would have their SNAP payments delayed, which would postpone them getting about $7.9 billion worth of food that is due to them in November. That would also mean a delay of nearly $8 billion in income for more than 250,000 food retailers nationwide.
In Wisconsin alone, that would equal roughly 689 thousand state residents experiencing delays in receiving approximately $112.9 million in November SNAP benefits. That would also mean a loss of $112.9 million in income for more than 4400 food retailers statewide.
Federal programs like SNAP, WIC, and school meals have, dollar for dollar, 17 times the impact of the U.S. charitable anti-hunger support system, according to calculations by Hunger Free America. Food pantries, food banks, and soup kitchens were originally designed to address temporary hunger emergencies. Such emergency food programs nationwide are already widely reporting that they are unable to meet the current surging demand for food.
“Even before this shutdown and the most recent domestic food aid cuts, a full 47 million Americans lived in food-insecure homes, unable to afford enough food. Ending the shutdown this week is crucial for preventing even greater mass hunger in November,” said Joel Berg, Hunger Free America CEO, a nonpartisan, nationwide nonprofit organization. “Emergency food charities, even if they had access to all the resources they would have used in past years, would only be able to temporarily fill a microscopic portion of the hunger chasm caused by SNAP delays – delays that are virtually certain to occur if the shutdown continues past this week.”
Berg continued: “If SNAP payments are significantly delayed, not only could we have the most severe hunger crisis since the Great Depression, but many food retailers might also be forced into enacting layoffs or worse. This would be truly catastrophic for the nation. By both law and practice, Hunger Free America is nonpartisan, and we don’t take sides in campaigns or support or oppose any political parties. But the law does not prohibit our organization from factually pointing out differences between each side on governmental matters. That is why we are compelled to point out that the facts make it clear that the G.O.P. is entirely responsible for this current shutdown.
That is why we call Senators Johnson and Baldwin to pressure President Trump and G.O.P. Congressional leaders to end the shutdown by reaching a compromise with Democrats to reopen the government and prevent a massive healthcare premium increase for tens of millions of Americans. After all, when Americans are forced to spend more on healthcare, they have less to spend on food, so reversing massive healthcare premium hikes would indeed decrease hunger. Additionally, the shutdown is increasing U.S. hunger by depriving most employees of federal agencies and contractors of the paychecks they need to afford food. That’s why, to avoid a Thanksgiving season with an empty refrigerator, shuttered grocery stores, and bare shelves at the food pantries, Trump and G.O.P. Congresspeople simply must reach a bipartisan agreement with the Democrats to reopen the government.”
