“In the richest country in the world, no person should ever wonder where they will get their next meal. Yet with Supplemental Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Women, Infants and Children program (WIC) benefits set to lapse for the first time in modern history on November 1, nearly 50 million people will have to make crippling decisions about their livelihoods such as paying rent or buying groceries. This is yet another act of unnecessary cruelty by the Trump administration and his GOP allies in Congress.
SNAP is one of the most effective anti-hunger programs in the country, reducing hunger, improving health outcomes and supporting local economies. Allowing this crucial program to lapse will make millions of families across America needlessly suffer.
We already know that Black people contend with unfair wages and too many of us lack access to affordable, healthy foods. We will be disproportionately harmed by the government’s callousness and cruelty. However, white people, who make up the largest racial group receiving benefits, will suffer significantly as well, especially those in red states. This means that Republicans’ refusal to fund SNAP will hurt their own voters most. They are showing us as clear as day that they do not care about their voters’ well-being and they damn sure don’t care about ours.
Right now, Congress has the power to take action and pass a resolution to prevent a lapse in SNAP benefits despite the government shutdown. Instead, Trump’s GOP allies are choosing to betray the people who voted them into office and play politics with all of our lives in service of Trump’s anti-American agenda and personal vendettas. Here’s the truth: While Trump gleefully builds a gilded gold dining room, millions of us will sit around our kitchen tables with nothing to eat.
But make no mistake: Black Voters Matter Fund won’t sit idly while our communities starve. In the spirit of Black leadership and collective care, we are taking action to establish a community fund to support families in need and provide direct resources to local partner organizations working on the front lines of food insecurity. This fund represents what we’ve always done, taking care of each other when our government fails to act.
We thank the members of Congress who held the line and fought for families when it mattered most. Now, we need everyone to take action:
- Call Congress to demand the protection and expansion of SNAP benefits.
- Donate to Black Voters Matter Fund, every contribution, no matter the size, helps ensure families in our communities have food on their tables.
Because when our people are in need, we don’t wait for permission. We take care of us.