How SNAP cuts will hit the Bay Area
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With millions of food-insecure people expected to lose benefits, food banks and pantries in the Bay Area are bracing for the worst and rallying community support to continue serving those in need.
Why it matters: Roughly 175,000 residents in Bay Area congressional districts are at risk of losing benefits from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — the nation's largest food aid program — including children and seniors, according to the California Budget & Policy Center.
What they're saying: If you add up all of the SNAP recipients at risk of losing some benefits, they'd fill up every major stadium in the Bay Area, San Francisco-Marin Food Bank spokesperson Lisa Gulezian told Axios.
- "Locally, we are asking the city and county to strengthen their response to food insecurity by protecting CalFresh and SNAP," said the food bank's associate director of policy and advocacy, Marchon Tatmon, who pointed to potential initiatives like community markets and funds focused on food insecurity.
State of play: Pre-COVID, the food bank served around 34,000 households, according to Tatmon. At the peak of the pandemic, that number hit 56,000.
- It remains at roughly 53,000 households today.
- "The need is still there," Tatmon said, noting that over 6,500 people are on their waitlist. "Lines are still long."
- Volunteers, donations and calls to elected officials will be critical for ensuring the food bank can adequately provide for people in need, Tatmon added.
Context: Trump's signature policy bill tightens SNAP work requirements, a move Republicans say will reduce waste, fraud and abuse.
- It's on track to cut 20% of spending on food stamps, which could result in more than 2 million people losing benefits, per an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office.
- States could also shoulder more benefit costs, the rate of which would be set by a state's percent of erroneous payments. Benefits are currently 100% federally funded, though states share administrative costs.
Between the lines: Funding reductions could also lead to the loss of SNAP-generated economic activity.
- In California, 13.9% of the population — or about 5.5 million people — participate in SNAP.
Zoom out: More than 42 million Americans participated in SNAP in March.
- The program provides crucial support for low-income families, seniors, people with disabilities and others.
- More than 62% of SNAP participants are in families with children and more than 38% are in working families, a 2024 CBPP analysis shows.
- Over 1 in 5 households in California struggle with food insecurity, per the California Association of Food Banks.