Among the many massive social cuts contained in the recently signed “big beautiful bill” is a cut to SNAP benefits.
And while many know SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) to be a modern-day version of “food stamps,” most do not fully understand the program — or how many people in involves.
Let’s start with the latter.
According to Triada Stampas, the CEO of Fulfill, the nonprofit food pantry that serves residents of Monmouth and Ocean counties, the most recent food insecurity data shows that more than 130,000 residents in that area are food insecure.
That’s a little over one in 10. And a massive 35% increase from before the pandemic.
Many feel that as many as 1 in 4 SNAP recipients could lose their benefits.
Now, let’s deal with the misconceptions — and do it in simple English:
Some will argue SNAP recipients are either “too lazy” to work, or are “undocumented immigrants” who have come here to live the good life – taking free benefits while everyone else works. Use the term “illegal aliens” if you really want to.
Stampas says neither idea holds up.
“There are some very unflattering perceptions out there about who uses SNAP and why,” she told BINJE.
“I have heard the talking points out there, that undocumented immigrants are using SNAP — that’s absolutely not true. Even legally present immigrants have to be here for at least five years before they are eligible for SNAP. So, even a person on a green card isn’t eligible for SNAP on Day One. It’s five years later. Only then, if they need help, can they apply.”
As for all the belief that people are using SNAP to avoid working …
“The idea that there are lots and lots of lazy people out there who prefer SNAP to working is also a misconception,” she said.
Here’s why the theory doesn’t hold up, Stampas said.
“SNAP only pays for food,” she said. “SNAP doesn’t pay the rent, SNAP doesn’t put gas in your car, SNAP doesn’t get you the medications you need when you’re sick.”
In fact …
“The reality is that the vast majority of adults on SNAP who are able to work, do work,” she said. “They’re seniors on fixed incomes. They’re parents of children who are trying to make ends meet for their families. They’re people dealing with health conditions or juggling multiple low paying jobs and still struggling to get by.”
Costs add up.
“This is a really expensive place to live,” she said. “It is hard to find an affordable roof over your head. That often is the biggest competing cost of living for people. But food is where people make sacrifices. You can scrimp on your food costs in a way that you can’t with other expenses. You can’t short your landlord.”
Stampas doesn’t get caught up in the culture wars.
She’ll politely say: “What I find, is that someone who has never themselves been on SNAP or interacted with that program, or had somebody close to them on SNAP, may not be all that well informed about what it is.”
Stampas and her crew at Fulfill don’t always have time to explain. They are too busy doing good deeds. And their role is about a lot more than just providing food.
It’s about offering dignity.
“Typically, we are the resource of last resort for people,” she said. “When a person goes and seeks help from a charitable food provider, like a food bank, a food pantry, a soup kitchen, it’s usually when they’ve exhausted their benefits, have no more money of their own to spend and have leaned on the generosity of friends and family and neighbors as much as they can.
“We hear all the time from people who say that their first visit to a food pantry is the hardest, because that is the moment of reckoning with no other alternative, no other option.”
It’s a reality show no one wants to star in, Stampas said.
“To come face to face with the fact that they need help with a basic need like food can be a very humbling moment,” she said. “To show up in that line can be a very hard thing to do.
“We try to make the experience dignified and welcoming. We do that because we know how hard it is. We do that because we know that people bring that shame and that stigma with them when they show up on the line.”
To be clear, Fulfill is not a part of SNAP. It is open to everyone. It’s a place where some folks come when they have exhausted their SNAP benefits for the month.
Stampas sees that need – and the look that comes with – every day.
That’s why she’s so disheartened by the recent cuts to SNAP. She knows the impact it will have.
“At a time when the costs of basic needs are already out of reach for so many of our neighbors, at a time when food pantries and soup kitchens are at or beyond capacity, this bill that was passed into law last week will make it even more difficult to afford food and to afford health care,” she said. “It will put children, seniors, veterans and people with disabilities newly at risk of losing access.”
Here’s hoping that clears up any misconceptions.
