Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, which provide monthly food assistance to more than 41 million people in the United States, may be suspended in 25 states beginning November 1 if the federal government does not reopen.
Lindsay Allen, a health economist and policy researcher at Northwestern University, has described the potential cutoff as “a direct attack on working-class families who rely on SNAP to feed their children.” Allen is an assistant professor of emergency medicine at the Buehler Center for Health Policy & Economics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
Allen stated, “The SNAP cliff isn’t theoretical, and states are already notifying families that in a few days they won't be able to put food on their table. Cutting off food assistance to force political concessions is cruel, and economically irresponsible, because SNAP is one of the most effective anti-poverty tools we have.”
Allen explained that current negotiations are tied to other issues affecting American families’ finances. “Democrats are holding out because they don't want to get rid of the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, which a lot of Americans don't realize is the only thing keeping coverage affordable for them,” she said. “Unless Republicans agree to extend tax credits, people are going to be shocked by how much their insurance is going to go up. They won't be able afford groceries, rent, medication and more because their premiums are going to go up by 75% overnight.”
Professor Allen is available for interviews regarding these developments.