‘This couldn’t come at a worse time’: Feeding America opposes SNAP, Medicaid cuts

Congress is considering a bill that would significantly reduce funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid, and Medicare, a necessity for many families across the country.

Vince Hall, the Chief Government Relations Officer at Feeding America, stopped by “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio with Charlie Harger and Manda Factor to outline the impact Congress’s new bill would have on American families.

Feeding America on the SNAP cut bill

“Congress is considering a bill that would significantly reduce funding for SNAP, Medicaid, and Medicare, three programs that play a critical role in helping meet essential needs for a lot of families,” Harger said. “This couldn’t come at a worse time. Summer brings higher expenses, and the cost of food and health care remains out of reach for millions.”

The SNAP program provides food benefits to low-income families, supplementing their grocery budget and enabling them to afford nutritious food essentials, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

“The SNAP program projects that [the bill] would reduce the number of meals available to people struggling with hunger by 9.5 billion meals per year nationwide,” Hall said. “For comparison, the entire Feeding America network produces 6 billion meals, so the cut would be more than 150% of everything that America’s food banks can produce today, and would lead to very dramatic increases in food insecurity across the country.”

SNAP-eligible foods include fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, dairy products, breads, and cereals. SNAP benefits cannot be used to buy alcohol, tobacco, medicine, vitamins, or hygiene items, according to the USDA.

Hall explained that the bill would also have a massive impact on Medicaid if it were signed into law as it currently stands.

“They’re talking about cutting in the order of $700 billion from the Medicaid program, which is a critical investment in the health care of our people, and helps hospitals, community clinics, nursing homes, and other facilities to take care of our most vulnerable citizens,” Hall said. “This cut would be directed in a harmful way to both their food security and their health security.”

Nearly 14 million children faced hunger in 2023, and one in every five children was unsure where they would get their next meal, according to Feeding America.

“For about 9 million kids in the United States, a school cafeteria is their only reliable, consistent source of balanced and nutritious meals, and they often count on it for both breakfast and lunch,” Hall said. “It’s an important additional problem that we can expect to see across the country if this legislation is signed into law.”

Hall offered a way for people to get involved and enact change in their community.

“If people are concerned about Medicare, Medicaid, and SNAP, it’s a really good time to pick up the phone and get in touch with members of Congress,” Hall said. “At Feedingamerica.org/snapcuts, people can fill out a couple of blanks and within minutes, communicate a very strong and important message.”

Listen to the full conversation below.

Listen to “Seattle’s Morning News” with Charlie Harger and Manda Factor weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on KIRO Newsradio. Subscribe to the podcast here.