The end of the nation's longest government shutdown means food assistance for 42 million Americans have been restored.
But suspending funding to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP, may have long-lasting impacts. And there are new restrictions. According to Politico, SNAP provides an average of $6 per day for nearly 42 million people, roughly 40% of whom are children.
Under Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, some Americans will be required to meet stricter work requirements, and states will have to share in the cost of SNAP benefits. Under this new law, some legal immigrants could lose access to the program.
On this Charlotte Talks, we discuss the history of SNAP, how it started, who it serves, and the role the program has played in American history. Plus, what’s at stake if the program were to go away again? And what role has the presence of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Charlotte had on immigrants' access to food?
GUESTS:
Susan Michelle Gross, associate professor with the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
Colleen Hammelman, associate professor in the Department of Earth, Environmental and Geographical Sciences and director of the Charlotte Action Research Project at UNC Charlotte.
Tracy Roof, associate professor of Political Science at the University of Richmond
