Why Mutual Aid Succeeds When Federal Funding Dries Up

"For 43 days in 2025, 42 million lower-income families, including children and elderly, wondered where their next meals would come from. The nation's largest anti-hunger program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), was cancelled during the fall's government shutdown, the first time these benefits have ever been paused since it was implemented 1964. But new SNAP guidelines expand the requirements of who needs to work to prove their eligibility, like veterans, the homeless, and adults ages 54 to 65, who were all previously exempt."

"Mandatory 20 hours weekly work requirements will also disproportionately impact people who work in fields that have been hit hard by unemployment, as well as caregivers, and the disabled. Social scientists in the food security space say the stricter requirements will cause greater food insecurity, take money out of neighborhoods, and force state governments to figure out how to bear the costs while keeping their own budgets trimmed."

"Keith McHenry has been working on food equity since 1980 and the challenges he faced back then are startlingly similar to those today. He co-founded Food Not Bombs, a volunteer-run mutual aid organization with around 1000 chapters across 60 countries; as a volunteer-run organization, that number could be considerably higher. Each chapter provides free food for communities, no questions asked, partnering with food banks, farms and local grocers."

SNAP benefits were cancelled for 43 days in 2025, leaving 42 million lower-income families, including children and elderly, without expected assistance. New guidelines expand workproof requirements to previously exempt groups such as veterans, the homeless, and adults ages 54 to 65, and impose mandatory 20-hour weekly work obligations. Those requirements will disproportionately affect workers in hard-hit industries, caregivers, and the disabled. Social scientists predict stricter rules will deepen food insecurity, drain neighborhood dollars, and force state governments to cover costs amid tight budgets. Volunteer mutual aid networks like Food Not Bombs provide direct food support across many communities.

Read at Bon Appetit