Tag Page SNAPLife

End-of-Year Donations Fall, My Church Kitchen Struggles Too

I volunteer at a church kitchen in Salt Lake City, Utah. Normally our community meals bridge the gap of limited government benefits. After the shutdown delayed SNAP, more people came seeking aid. But our donations dropped as the economy tightened. Last week we were notified: procurement budget cut by 20%. I watched the sacks of rice in the pot shrink and feared: if we can't hold on, the next meal might be by appointment. #WhenSNAPStops #SNAPLife #SNAPInterrupted

It’s December 1st. My EBT app says $0.00. I am physically sick with worry.

I woke up at 5:45 AM today, before my alarm, specifically to check my Providers app. For most people, the 1st of the month means paying rent. For my family, it means we finally get to go to the grocery store after eating pasta and canned beans for the last five days. I opened the app. Current Balance: $0.34. My heart dropped into my stomach. Usually, the deposit hits at midnight like clockwork. I refreshed the page. Nothing. I logged out and logged back in. Still nothing. Now it's noon. I have two hungry kids coming home from school in three hours, expecting a real dinner. The fridge is basically empty—just a half-gallon of milk and some condiments. I’ve checked the state DHS website, and there are no outage alerts. I called the helpline, but the automated message just says, "Call volume is unusually high," and hangs up. Is this a system glitch? Did I miss a renewal letter? Or is this happening to everyone because of the Thanksgiving holiday delay? If you are in [State Name], please check your app right now. am I the only one panic-refreshing my screen? I don't know what I'm going to put on the table tonight if this money doesn't clear. #EBTDown #SNAPLife #FoodStamps #December1st #PovertyAwareness #SystemFailure #MomLife

The Small Farm Got Hurt Too: No Buyers at the Field, I Became a Lonely Farmer

I run a small farm in Pennsylvania supplying local grocery stores—and many of my customers are SNAP households. After the shutdown, SNAP card holders tightened wallets, grocery orders shrank, and my harvest turned into surplus. That week I stood in the pumpkin field, watched the truck return empty from town. My coffee went cold in front of the tools, and I thought: we don’t just feed others—we’re being forgotten by the system too. #WhenSNAPStops #SNAPLife #SNAPInterrupted

I’m a single mom of two, working full time. Monthly income is about $3200. Every SNAP chart I looked at told me I made too much money for my family of three. I figured SNAP was only for people who weren’t working. So, stressed and struggling, I never applied. The other day, I was talking to a friend and I joked “if I didn’t have to pay $1000 for daycare every month, I wouldn’t need food stamps” She stopped me. “That’s exactly why you need to apply. They don’t just count what you make they count what you keep after necessary expenses” When I finally swallowed my pride and submitted the app the caseworker showed me the math. I learned they don’t just look at your gross income they look at your net income after applying deductions. They deduct a portion of my rent, my work expenses, and a huge chunk of my essential high ahh childcare. Even with my decent pay check after all those deductictions my net income was eligible I was approved for $310 a month. That’s $310 I don’t have to choose between buying groceries for my kids and paying my energy bill… it was the relief I needed to keep working and providing If you are working and paying high childcare or rent your net income might qualify you. You are not taking from anyone! You are using the benefit the rules set aside to support the working poor #SNAPBenefits #SNAPLife #SNAPTalk

The Benefits Finally Arrived. I Only Bought Junk Food

Today, the court ordered the November SNAP benefits released. My EBT card finally has money. I went straight to the store. What did I buy? Fresh vegetables? Milk? Chicken? Nope. I bought every can of Spaghetti-O's, every bag of chips, all the instant ramen, and all the soda I could fit in my cart. All the high-calorie, long-shelf-life, zero-nutrition junk. Why? Because this month taught me one thing: the government can, and will, turn off your food supply at any time. I don't care about the "food pyramid." I care that when the politicians start fighting again next month, my kids have calories to eat. I'm fighting their stupid policy with my own. #SNAPLife #Hoarding #PolicyFailure

#SNAPBenefits #SNAPLife #SNAPTalk

#SNAPBenefits #SNAPLife #SNAPTalk

#SNAPBenefits #SNAPLife #SNAPTalk

SNAP week always means higher prices — and we pay for it

In Phoenix, everyone knows this: the week SNAP hits, grocery prices go up. Last week at Safeway, chicken breast went from $2.99/lb to $4.29/lb overnight. A woman next to me whispered, “SNAP folks don’t feel it anyway.” But we do. People paying full price end up carrying the burden. Government help shouldn’t distort prices in ways that punish working families. #SNAPLife #ShowUsTheBill #FoodInflation #CostOfLiving #WorkingFamilies

Watching EBT purchases at Walmart makes me question everything

I work as a cashier at a Walmart in Houston. Last Friday — SNAP day — the line went halfway across the store. A young guy came up with two cases of energy drinks, four tubs of ice cream, and a big bag of chips. He swiped his EBT card, no problem. I asked, “Not getting any groceries or meat?” He shrugged. “The system gives it, I use it. Why not?” Meanwhile, I work 38 hours a week and still budget every gallon of milk. Some days I wonder… who is SNAP really helping, and who’s paying for it? #SNAPLife #ShowUsTheBill #TaxpayerVoice #WelfareDebate #HoustonLife