Berkshire County — Recipients of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will lose benefits under the latest federal budget proposal. According to media reports, on Tuesday, February 25, the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget resolution that would cut approximately $230 billion from SNAP through 2034.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, as of fiscal 2024, 1.11 million Massachusetts residents, or one in six residents, receive SNAP benefits. Each SNAP household receives an average of $6.44 per day in benefits.
More than 50 percent of SNAP participants in Massachusetts have households with children, while 48 percent of households have family members who are elderly or disabled, and 33 percent of SNAP households are in working families.
According to Statistical Atlas, 7,833 residents, or 14.28 percent of residents in Berkshire County, receive SNAP benefits.
Food Bank of Western Massachusetts Public Policy Manager Laura Sylvester told The Berkshire Edge that the drastic reduction will harm residents receiving SNAP benefits. “If the reductions go through, it would mean that a SNAP recipient would lose an average of $1.40 per day,” Sylvester said. “That’s about a 20 percent cut. The current average SNAP benefit is only $6.40 per person a day.”
The nonprofit organization, based out of Chicopee, operates a food warehouse, along with programs related to food insecurity, resources, and education. Through its warehouse, the organization distributes food to multiple food banks and pantries in four Massachusetts counties, including Berkshire County.
“Current SNAP benefits are already inadequate to meet people’s food needs throughout the month,” Sylvester said. “Residents on SNAP have told us that their benefits get them through three weeks per month. For the last week of the month, they all rely on food pantries and meal sites.”
Sylvester said that the proposed cuts to SNAP would increase food insecurity across the state. “The emergency food system, which our organization is part of, is already stressed to the limit,” Sylvester said. “It would be impossible for food banks and assistance networks to make up for those cuts. We are already not quite meeting all of the existing needs.”
Sylvester said that to meet the increasing need, the organization has expanded the amount of food it distributes through its warehouse. “In October, we had 142,000 residents who used our food-assistance network, and in November it was 133,000 residents,” Sylvester said. “Those were the two biggest months in our organization’s history. With the amount of federal dollars SNAP brings into the state, versus what food banks and emergency food networks can provide, it would be impossible for organizations to make up any differences in funding gaps.”
Sylvester said there is “no way” that the state will be able to make up any funding gaps caused by the cutbacks to the SNAP program. SNAP brings in $35 million per month to western Massachusetts. “If the funds are cut, this will also impact grocery stores and retailers,” Sylvester said. “If the money is cut, people will have to pinch pennies and spend more of their earned dollars on food.”
Sylvester said residents who oppose the proposed cuts should contact senators and representatives through the organization’s website.
“Rep. Jim McGovern is the leading anti-hunger advocate in Congress; Congressman Richard Neal does not support SNAP cuts; and U.S. Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren are already screaming every day against these cuts,” Sylvester said. “So the best thing people can do is let them all know that we agree with them, we thank them, and that we have their back. They need to keep working for us. But we also need to reach out to people in other states who are not as supportive of the SNAP program to get them to pressure their elected officials to vote against these cuts.”
