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Federal officials said more than 4 million Americans have lost food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program over the past year, prompting pleas for Wyoming residents to help if they can.

The U.S. Agriculture Secretary told Fox Business last week the reduction in benefits is due to a fraud crackdown. As food banks face new strains on their services, they are asking neighbors to step in.

Mark Weslar, director of food sourcing for the Food Bank of the Rockies, said there is a big spike in demand. He noted one in six Wyomingites and one in five children do not know where their next meal will come from.

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"People from all walks of life are struggling to make ends meet, especially with gas being what it is," Weslar pointed out. "Food, clothes, everything seems astronomically expensive now, and folks are having to make hard choices."

According to the government’s own data, fraud accounts for just 1% of the SNAP program. The vast majority of people lost SNAP benefits after the passage of the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," which created additional work requirements and other restrictions. The Republicans’ signature tax and spending law aims to cut SNAP funding by 20%, or $186 billion over the next decade.

Work requirements do not help people land jobs paying a living wage, according to new research by the Hamilton Project but they do decrease SNAP participation. Weslar added SNAP has been the most effective anti-hunger program in the nation’s history and food banks and pantries alone cannot fill in the gaps when people lose benefits.

"The SNAP program is vitally important. For every one meal that a food bank provides, the SNAP program provides nine meals," Weslar reported.

Last year, Food Bank of the Rockies distributed meals to nearly 400,000 neighbors in need. It encouraged people to make contributions using the Food Bank of the Rockies website, and Weslar added volunteering is also a great way to contribute.

"It's a really neat experience," Weslar emphasized. "We have opportunities to work in the kitchen and make after-school meals for kids. We crank out about 2,000 meals a day. Or you could work at a mobile pantry out in the community, helping get food to neighbors in need."