As SNAP Benefits Lapse, Rural Americans Step Up to Meet Their Neighbors’ Needs

On November 6, a judge ruled that SNAP benefits must be paid out in full for November, although it’s unclear when recipients will begin to receive those benefits. The Justice Department almost immediately moved to appeal the ruling.

[Update: On November 7, the Supreme Court temporarily paused the court order to fully fund SNAP. In response, the Trump administration told states they must “immediately undo” any actions to provide full benefits, throwing the program into further disarray. Late Sunday evening, the Senate approved a spending deal that must now move its way through Congress to end the government shutdown.]

“ Lots of people are having to make really tough choices,” says Eric Savaiano, food and nutrition policy expert at Nebraska Appleseed. “And that means that they’re having to choose between whether they’ll have food for themselves or their children, whether they’ll have money for food or rent.”

As demand at food pantries and charitable organizations has risen, restaurants, bakeries and community organizations have stepped up to serve neighbors in need.

At Project Feed the Kids in Traverse City, Michigan, demand has increased since the lapse in SNAP benefits, says Tiffany McQueer, who founded and runs the organization. “ We pack 3,500 meals a week and last week we were out of meals right away. So [without] the SNAP benefits, we have seen such an increase in the demand.”

At 9 a.m. on a Thursday morning, Project Feed the Kids is packed with volunteers as they prepare bagged meals that will be distributed to seven locations in mostly rural Grand Traverse County and Kalkaska County. The fridges are open 24/7, with no questions asked. McQueer says they’re the only 24/7 food pantry in the area. “ If you’re hungry, you simply take what you need and leave the rest for those in need,” says McQueer. “This week we’re going to pack over 4,000 meals so we can ensure that we’re taking care of more families on top of doing more stuff like doing a food drive, doing a meat giveaway, everything we can to provide more items for families in need.”

In addition to food pantries like Project Feed the Kids, local restaurants and cafes have begun offering free meals to those who didn’t receive SNAP benefits this week. In Elk Rapids, Michigan, Ames Street Cafe has begun offering a cooler filled with soup and other goods for free. Old Mission Bakery in Traverse City has begun offering free loaves of bread.

Approximately 13.5% of U.S. households are food insecure, according to the 2023 USDA Household Food Security report. In rural areas, that number is 15.4%. In September, the USDA cancelled the food security report, claiming in a press release that the annual study “failed to present anything more than subjective, liberal fodder.”

Confusing messaging from the Trump administration has bogged down an already strenuous situation.

Republican lawmakers had previously claimed it wasn’t possible to fund SNAP benefits during the government shutdown. However, on October 31, two judges ruled that SNAP benefits must be restored.

In response, the administration said that 50% of SNAP benefits would be paid with contingency funds held by the USDA. Then on November 4, Trump claimed on Truth Social, the social media platform he owns, that SNAP benefits will only be paid once the government reopens, in apparent defiance to the court order.

Since 1980, 15 federal government shutdowns have occurred. The current shutdown, which began on October 1, is the longest. No previous government shutdown has resulted in a lapse in SNAP benefits, including the January 2019 government shutdown, which occurred during Donald Trump’s first term in office and held the previous record for the longest shutdown in history.

In Michigan, residents are scheduled to begin receiving partial benefits on Saturday, November 8. In Pennsylvania, officials have said it could take up to three weeks before recipients begin to receive their benefits.

On the USDA website, a banner on the homepage directs blame for the shutdown and the lapse in benefits toward Democrat lawmakers, falsely claiming “they can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government.” Such a statement is an apparent violation of the Hatch Act, a 1939 law that prohibits civil service employees from engaging in political activity.

For rural grocery stores, which operate on slim profit margins, the SNAP delay will likely mean a hit to their revenue.  “Businesses that accept SNAP get around 10 or 12% of their revenue from SNAP benefits and SNAP participation,” says Savaiano. “Some of that food is gonna spoil and not go to families that need it. And then some of those businesses are going to not have the revenue that they’re used to having.”

“ That gap between SNAP and people being fed is where charitable food system steps in. But it can’t be the same thing that being able to go to the grocery store with a SNAP card is,” says Sarah Harpster, community engagement director at New Hampshire Hunger Solutions.

“ There’s going to be up to $2 million worth of food packages put together for people who receive SNAP benefits,” in New Hampshire, says Harpster. But that’s short of what SNAP benefits usually provide for New Hampshire residents. “Typically we get about $13 million into people’s cards every month,” says Harpster.

Over the summer, Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) into law, which includes several changes to the SNAP program and leaves 3 million young adults vulnerable to losing SNAP benefits, according to the Urban Institute. Beginning in 2027, states will be required to absorb costs that were previously covered by the federal government. 

Harpster added that New Hampshire residents are also growing worried over lapsed funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a $4 billion program which helps cover heating bills for low-income families. In some areas of New Hampshire, temperatures at night have already begun dropping into the 20s.

Despite the efforts by community organizations to fill gaps left by the lapsed SNAP funding, there’s no substitute for a multi-billion-dollar federal program, says Harpster.  “It’s just so much more powerful to be able to have your SNAP card loaded,” she says. “People have convenience, choice and dignity when they’re using SNAP.”

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Miles MacClure is a writer based in Traverse City, Michigan. Most of his writing revolves around culture, politics, and technology.