Everyone needs to eat. A fundamental duty of every government is to make sure its residents are fed. But currently, the American government is allowing millions of its residents to go hungry while the President tears down the East wing of the White House to create a dance hall.
The government shutdown showdown game of chicken between Republicans and Democrats over funding for healthcare in the federal budget has resulted in stoppage of numerous federal programs. Among those are SNAP, which we know colloquially as food stamps, the nation's largest and most effective anti-hunger program (and really a point of pride as an achievement of American policy). The US Department of Agriculture has a $5-billion-reserve fund that could be tapped into, which would cover half of the typical benefits for a month for the country. On the directive of the President, this fund won't be used. So as Thanksgiving approaches, millions of families will be struggling to secure their daily bread, much less procure a turkey or any other edible bird for which thanks can be offered.
But this isn't the only aspect of the hunger crisis facing the U.S.
Beginning November 1, the new rules for SNAP included in HR1 will be implemented across the country. These rules include new work requirements that would be fantastic if they included any kind of actual help in finding a job (spoiler alert: they don't). These rules have been around in one form or another for thirty years, but there have been waivers from them in large areas of the country. Plus, the work requirements used to apply only to people through age 49, with no kids. Not any more; beginning November 1 the rules apply to people through age 64, and include people with kids over age 14. Veterans, unhoused people, and former foster youth, previously exempt, will now also be required to comply. Millions of people will lose benefits after three months under these rules. That means they won't be able to get food and they'll go hungry.
That's not the only policy change that will impact people's ability to get sufficient food.
The government shutdown is driven by the Democrats' insistence that subsidies for Affordable Care Act premiums are maintained, rather than eliminated as they are under the proposed Republican budget. If the subsidies are cut, next year millions of families will see their premiums doubled---and many low-income families will then face the choice of paying for health insurance, or buying food for their family. That's another blow to food access in the country.
But it's not the last one.
Supermarkets are the actual beneficiaries of the SNAP program. While recipients are able to obtain food through SNAP, the use of the card at hundreds of thousands of supermarkets, corner stores and even gas stations helps support retail food businesses. These businesses must also comply with different regulations in order to accept SNAP benefits. One of those requirements is that they offer a certain number of types of food in each of the major food categories (such as fruits, vegetables, dairy, and meat.) Currently the regulations call for 4 types of food in each category. But under the instigation of Robert Kennedy Jr. and the so-called Make America Healthy Again movement, those requirements have been raised to 7 types of food in each category. Many small stores won't be able to comply and may have their ability to accept SNAP revoked. This will be another barrier for low-income households who don't have a large supermarket near them, and rely on small corner stores. They'll have to spend more money to travel farther to use their SNAP benefits.
That's another obstacle for hungry Americans.
But it's not the last one.
You see, food prices have been going up, ever since Donald Trump ran for president on a platform that ostensibly centered on lowering the price of eggs. CBS News reported today October 27, that prices are up for beef, bananas, coffee and other foods, in part due to tariffs introduced by the Trump administration. Banana prices are up 6.9% in September from a year previous. Ground beef prices have risen 12.9% in a country known for its love of hamburgers, and coffee prices are up 18.9% in our caffeine-addicted nation.
That's bad news for hungry Americans, and also for the retail food industry.
But it isn't the only one.
Farmers, and particularly ranchers, are very upset with the Trump administration over the recent bailout of Argentina. Rex Huppke in USA Today reports that While US consumers wrestle with record-high ground beef prices-$6.63 per pound. Trump has proposed helping Argentine President Javier Milei by quadrupling the amount of Argentine beef coming into America. That will likely do little to help consumers, while hurting cattle ranchers already struggling with a reduced domestic herd size brought on by everything from drought to inflated feeding costs.
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