SNAP benefits were set to freeze on Nov. 1, 2025, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on Oct. 10 that if the government shutdown continues, it will not be able to fund the program.
Callie Cantrell, a junior, shared her thoughts on this news: “I think it wasn’t a very smart decision because families who have fewer benefits suffer from this mistake. It doesn’t allow everyone to receive equal opportunities.”
SNAP benefits, also known as food stamps, cost more than $3 billion to arrange and send out monthly. A person who is part of this program will receive an average of about $356 a month in supplies such as groceries.
This delay will make a huge difference to families all around the U.S., and from many opinions online, which are not positive. “The president does not want to have to continue to dip into a contingency fund that doesn’t even have enough money, by the way, to fund the full program,” stated White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt during a press interview.
The U.S. government shutdown has almost reached the 40-day mark of funds and bills not being passed. The Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS) has stated that no new benefits will be sent after Oct. 31 until the shutdown ends.
Senior Kyrollos Atwan said, “I feel bad that you are putting money in the wrong places. People need the government for help, and it’s not fair for people to take it away from them.”
Overall, SNAP benefits face an unprecedented crisis that puts the food security of millions of Americans, including low -income families with children, the elderly, and people with disabilities, at severe risk of starvation.
