""I was really relieved," she said, but there was a nagging feeling in her gut. "Okay, what if they take it away?" Giammona can't fathom why the government would deprive low-income people of a necessity like food. She considers it an "abuse of power" with lasting consequences. "People are going to distrust the government, and I think that people are going to be really angry about it for a long time," she said."
"For more than 60 years it has stood as a key safety-net for those in need. Funded each year by Congress, its budget is designed to grow and shrink to meet the demand. To see it compromised was startling, said Craig Gundersen, an economics professor at Baylor University. "This is a big surprise," Gundersen said. "It really has broken this entitlement status of SNAP, and that's of concern.""
SNAP funding was suspended during the nation's longest government shutdown, interrupting benefits for 42 million Americans before restoration after nearly two weeks. A single working mother in Sacramento relied on SNAP for most groceries and faced near-empty pantry and freezer while November benefits were delayed amid legal disputes. The pause raised fears of future cuts, distrust, and anger among recipients. SNAP, serving one in eight U.S. residents and operating as a sixty-year safety net, is funded annually by Congress with a flexible budget. Economists warn the suspension undermines SNAP's entitlement status and raises concern about long-term impacts.
Read at www.npr.org
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