As the government shutdown drags on, a vital food assistance program hangs in the balance. If it’s discontinued due to lack of funding, it’s women – and children – who will suffer the most.
Over the weekend, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that “the well has run dry” with regards to money for its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). “At this time, there will be no benefits issued” come Nov. 1, USDA officials added.
In 2024, about 41.7 million people received monthly SNAP assistance by way of electronic cards with set balances that are used to purchase eligible grocery items. In all, that’s 12.3% of the population. Of those beneficiaries, 63% are women, and more than a third are children.
That’s due to myriad reasons, research from the National Women’s Law Center shows. “Women, particularly women of color, women with disabilities, older women, immigrant women and LGBTQIA+ individuals disproportionately … experience both gender and racial discrimination in many aspects of their lives, and that hinders their ability to make ends meet,” researchers wrote in a 2024 report.
They continued: “Women are overrepresented in the low-paid work force and face persistent wage gaps, which are even larger for women of color. Women also shoulder a disproportionate share of unpaid family caregiving throughout their lives, which also reduces their earnings.”
Even when SNAP is functioning normally, food insecurity is a problem for Americans, with some 17.9% of U.S. homes with children reporting problems affording what they need.
Experts voiced concern – and displeasure – over the impending loss of assistance, and the Trump administration’s lack of action on the matter. “It could have, and should have, taken steps weeks ago to be ready to use these funds,” Sharon Parrott, leader of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said in a statement.
“Instead,” she continued, “some Republicans “may choose not to use [those steps] in an effort to gain political advantage” in pressuring Democratic lawmakers to agree to their terms in order to end the shutdown. It began, and has persisted, over budgeting disagreements – namely, Democrats’ interests in extending tax credits that are set to expire, and reversing President Donald Trump’s Medicaid cuts.
Individual states are responding to the coming crisis in various ways, with some vowing to continue SNAP support from their own coffers. New York is one such state. There, Gov. Kathy Hochul referred to SNAP as “the moral backbone of our country” and a “lynchpin in our economy” while pledging $11 million to the state’s food-assistance programs.
Other states however, like Massachusetts, say they lack the means to do the same – and time will tell how individuals will navigate that coming uncertainty.
