The benefits provided to Americans through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are necessary for many in receiving the funds to put food on the table. With the recent government shutdown in October, which brought a halt in the program’s funding and ability to disperse SNAP checks, many families panicked due to the loss of these essential resources, especially as the holiday seasons approached. This meant a pause in benefits for around 42 million Americans, including 16 million children, according to ABC News. Food banks and local resource services such as ARC’s Beaver Care pantry service are forced to pick up the slack to support and feed their communities. The government shutdown ended on Nov. 12, and the scare in funding was predicted to also end, but although SNAP benefits have been restored many are still anxiously awaiting these funds for the holiday season.
When benefits were first put to a halt in early November, many people feared for what this meant in terms of the upcoming food centered holidays. Because of Congress’s inability to pass a funding bill or continuing resolution surrounding the shutdown, people were left in the dark about these necessary resources. Now that the shutdown’s over, full funding to the program was restored, but with a few modifications and delays.
Changes implemented in adherence with the “One Big Beautiful Bill of 2025” started with the benefits age limits, which were now changed from able-bodied adults, ages 18-54 to between the ages of 18-64, making it potentially harder to get waivers as it tightens the waiver qualification criteria. The previous hours requirement had able-bodied adults work in a training program, job search or approved work for 20 hours per week, but now they are required to work for at least 80 hours per month. Groups that were previously exempt from these requirements, including veterans and those experiencing homelessness, are now no longer exempt and required to meet these new demands.
Eligibility requirements needed to receive SNAP benefits have also changed. This includes a change in immigrant eligibility with some illegally present immigrants, such as refugees and asylees, having lost eligibility. And, if one does not meet these sets of requirements they will only be allowed to receive benefits for three months over a three-year period.
A majority of these changes and more have been put in place not only due to the recent government shutdown refunding but also due to the alleged fraud of recipients who don’t depend on the service that is believed to exist by The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) members, such as Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. NPR news shared a statement made by Rollins in a Fox Business interview last month on how she believes these changes will, “make sure those vulnerable Americans who really need the benefits are going to get it,” and goes on to exempt those who are “fraudsters” or “people who are corrupt and taking advantage” of these SNAP resources.
With the program’s intent to reconstruct in order to act against alleged fraud comes the fear from those who truly rely on these resources, and whether these new changes will keep them out as well. In the same article, NPR news combats Rollins’ statement with food policy experts such as Stacy Dean, executive director of George Washington University’s Global Food Institute and a former USDA official during the Biden administration, who believes the spreading of a fraud narrative is harmful to receiving the support to sustain these necessary benefits.
“My worry is that she’s risking setting a public narrative that this is a program that has more fraud than it actually does, or that the people who need it and use it to meet their very basic food needs are somehow committing a crime by seeking food assistance,” Dean said.
As people are forced to adapt and accommodate to these new changes, the navigation of these newly implemented rules aren’t the only aspect of the unexpected SNAP defunding and refunding that is currently affecting families. Some participants received checks immediately after the court ruling however, many people remain in limbo as they await these highly anticipated resources. The instability of these expected checks has caused food insecurity for many families, especially as food demand is only increasing.
Many who rely on these benefits to provide food security have turned to food banks, resulting in longer lines and a higher demand, which food bank workers are struggling to keep up with. In an interview shared on TikTok by Now This Impact before the Thanksgiving rush, Jill Dixon, the food depot executive director answers the question on the realistic sustainability of food banks amidst these SNAP-affected demands.
“For every meal that a food bank provides, the SNAP program provides 9,” Dixon said. “There’s no way we can meet that gap.”
Dixon also confirmed that it is not sustainable for food banks to fill this gap, as she states they were not built to support this level of demand.
This statement proved evident after the first major holiday food rush on Thanksgiving Day, where food banks across the country were struggling to meet demands. ABC news shared a statement from Jerome Nathanial, director of policy and government relations at City Harvest food rescue organization, about the extremities of their demands this Thanksgiving season. He shared that City Harvest was set to distribute 1 million more pounds of food to their pantries this November in comparison to November 2024.
In addition to the support of food banks, many communities have other school or locally funded programs for additional resource support. Even American River College’s Beaver Care program has made an effort to bridge the gap by making changes to its food bank services to improve accessibility for those in need. This includes increased pantry access, extended pantry hours, and the expansion of their pantry inventory to meet growing demands.
As benefit checks are still expected to be trickling in, recipients can hope that with these setbacks and the implementation of a series of new changes that further holiday plans and overall food insecurity becomes more manageable and sustainable to support in order to feed America.
