The federal government shutdown is about to enter its second month. In November, almost 600,000 Hoosiers are at risk of losing their reliable source of food if the federal government does not fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). One in every eight of those relying on SNAP in Indiana is a child. If this funding suddenly disappears, this will mean children going to school with empty stomachs, elderly citizens forgoing medications to be able to afford groceries and parents unable to sleep at night wondering how they are going to feed their families.
Let me be clear about who will be hurt by this funding cliff: everyone.
If you are fortunate enough to not have to rely on SNAP to put food on the table, you may think this issue will have no impact on your daily life. I am here to tell you that you are dead wrong. Obviously, the most pressing aspect of this issue is that people will face food insecurity and hunger. However, this sudden cut off of SNAP benefits could have downstream effects on the economy that will impact consumers no matter what tax bracket they are in.
Think about it.
Grocery stores across the state would lose 9% of their customers overnight. In Indiana, SNAP users spend $111.4 million a month on food and other essentials. That doesn’t just leave tons of food on the shelves, but removes millions of dollars in income for every part of the food industry. The grocery stores themselves, the shipping companies, the food manufacturers, the packaging manufacturers, all the way down to farmers — this pause in SNAP will derail the entire supply chain.
SNAP funding could be the difference in grocery stores being able to keep their doors open. This means employees losing their job, decreasing their ability to spend money on other things and increasing unemployment throughout the state. Our state already has an issue with vast food deserts. Those food deserts would expand as stores in low-income communities will be hit the hardest. This means people in those communities having to spend time and money traveling long distances to meet their needs. Property values will also decline as commercial spaces sit empty and the community loses resources. This also leads to less sales tax collection which will decrease services that the state and local governments can provide.
Many of you may have your thoughts on who get SNAP benefits. In reality, 31 out of 92 counties receive 5% to 9.2% of their income share from SNAP, with Marion County being on the low end of 5%. Rural communities are going to be hit just as hard, if not harder, than larger cities.
SNAP isn’t just an essential lifeline for the most vulnerable Hoosiers it’s a major economic stabilizer. Suddenly pulling the funding from this program will have cascading effects on our entire economy that will hurt all citizens, not just those who will be devastated by the impact of hunger.
State Rep. Cherrish Pryor, D-Indianapolis, is the Indiana House Minority Floor Leader.