SNAP, the nation’s largest food assistance program, is a critical lifeline for people across the country, including many Islanders who are struggling to afford the food they need. Both short- and long-term cuts to the program began going into effect last weekend, putting extra strain and uncertainty on people already facing food insecurity and shifting even more of the responsibility for keeping our neighbors fed to food pantries and community organizations like Island Grown.
Forty-two million Americans rely on SNAP, 1.1 million of whom live here in Massachusetts. Two thirds of beneficiaries in our state are children, elders, veterans and those with disabilities.
On Nov. 1, a temporary freeze and now an uncertain reinstatement of partial benefits began, related to the shutdown of the federal government. On that same day, long-term changes to SNAP also began going into effect, unrelated to the legal and political battles raging around the shutdown. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act included new work requirements, eligibility restrictions and other provisions that will eliminate $186 billion in funding for SNAP and reduce or eliminate benefits for millions of people over the next 10 years…