NEW YORK, NY — The Service Workers SNAP Emergency Fund, unveiled on Monday by One Fair Wage, aims to provide direct cash assistance to restaurant and service industry employees who have been hit hardest by the ongoing reductions. According to the organization, these workers rely on food stamps at twice the rate of other occupations, leaving millions vulnerable to food insecurity as federal aid shrinks.
“This isn’t just a story about food assistance — it’s a story about poverty wages,” said Saru Jayaraman, president of One Fair Wage. “The people who feed us can’t afford to feed themselves. Forty-two million Americans rely on food stamps, and millions of them are working. That reveals the crisis for what it really is: people working full time and still going hungry because wages are too low to live on.”
The decision to slash food assistance comes despite two court orders requiring the administration to release full SNAP payments during the shutdown. The cuts, officials said, are part of a “budget prioritization” effort as the standoff over government spending continues. The result has left low-income families and working adults uncertain about how to afford groceries this month…