Food banks across Texas prepare to help the needy despite federal cuts
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Almost 3.5 million Texans utilize the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to purchase food.
The budget reconciliation bill recently signed into law by President Donald Trump cuts SNAP benefits by approximately $186 billion nationwide.
Celia Cole, CEO of the nonprofit Feeding Texas, said the state has three options to make up for the $800 million needed to keep the program operating at its current rate.
"Raising new revenue, which is not going to happen in a state like Texas, or diverting revenue from other essential services or simply cutting benefits," Cole outlined. "Worst case scenario, just walking away from the program entirely."
She pointed out the cuts will push seniors, veterans, working parents and children further into poverty. Even with SNAP benefits, more than 17 percent of Texans experienced food insecurity last year.
Feeding Texas is a network of food banks assisting Texans in all 254 counties across the state. Cole noted they are helping as many people now as they did during the pandemic and cuts in the federal budget will only increase the need for help.
"For every meal food banks put on the table, SNAP puts nine meals on the table," Cole emphasized. "It's the most effective way to get food to people in need. We are going to be reaching out to our supporters, our donors from philanthropy to corporations to the state government to try and make up for as much of the loss as we can."
She added fallout from the cuts will also negatively affect farmers, grocers and the overall Texas economy.
"It's not the way to go about balancing a budget," Cole argued. "We've said this before, a budget is a moral document and this one clearly fails the test."
