How the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Could Gut the SNAP Food Program

This op-ed was posted on PennLive on July 17, 2025.

The final time traces at Pennsylvania’s meals banks had been this lengthy was in the summertime of 2023.

Inflation was rising, and states had simply lower pandemic-related will increase to the nation’s primary meals program. We’re poised to relive that devastating mixture of excessive inflation and cuts to authorities advantages, as Congress plans to make over $180 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Vitamin Help Program (SNAP) as a result of lately handed One Massive Lovely Invoice Act. Multiple million households in Pennsylvania are anticipated to lose some or all of their
SNAP advantages. Many extra adults and kids may go hungry, relying on state officers’ capacity to fund the meals cuts or cross them on.

All this ache is over SNAP advantages that common $6.20 per particular person per day. Distinction that to the after-tax bump of $389,000 that the invoice goes to ship to the highest 0.1% of earnings earners, in accordance with the Penn Wharton finances mannequin. To make these reductions – the biggest in SNAP’s historical past – Congressional Republicans’ made three devastating adjustments: (1) slashing federal funding for SNAP, forcing states to decide on between making main finances cuts or kicking households off this system, (2) imposing burdensome work necessities, together with on households with youngsters, and (3) limiting future SNAP changes that now let advantages rise with rising meals prices and altering vitamin suggestions.

As docs and researchers, we all know that one in 5 American households and one in three households in Philadelphia struggles to afford the meals they should preserve their youngsters wholesome. The issue is worsened by ongoing will increase in meals costs, which rose 3% prior to now 12 months and have been climbing quicker than economy-wide inflation. SNAP helps households throughout the nation, together with greater than 2 million Pennsylvanians, afford the meals they want.

Learn the total op-ed right here.