The Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) is the nation’s largest nutrition assistance program. The White House has the resources to keep the program running during the shutdown, but has declined to do so.
It is important to understand who is on SNAP.
According to the USDA:
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In FY 2023, four in five (79%) SNAP households included either a child, an older person, or a non-elderly person with a disability. These households included 88% of all SNAP participants and received 83% of all SNAP benefits. See figure below.
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Approximately 39% of SNAP participants were children, 20% were elderly, and 10% were non-elderly individuals with disabilities.
Most SNAP households lived in poverty. Seventy-three percent had a gross monthly income at or below 100% of the poverty level.
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Most SNAP benefits go to the poorest households. Eighty-six percent of all SNAP benefits go to households with gross monthly income at or below the poverty level, and 51% of benefits go to households with gross monthly income at or below 50% of the poverty level. In contrast, 27% of households with a gross monthly income above the poverty line received 14% of all benefits.
Many households receiving SNAP have a net income ranging from $300-$500 per month.
Because most SNAP recipients are children, elderly, or disabled, they cannot get jobs. If SNAP payments stop, it is likely that these people will go hungry.
Trump wants to blame Democrats for the shutdown, but keep reading to find out why his administration will be responsible for possibly leaving tens of millions of Americans hungry soon.
