SNAP benefits are resources millions of families use to provide food, utilities and comfort. October 1st 2025 through November twelfth 2025 the government was in a shutdown. As stated by USA Facts “A government shutdown occurs when Congress fails to pass or the president refuses to sign a spending bill to fund the federal government’s operations”. This means that one of the branches failed to do their part and stalled the funding release. This caused millions of families to not get their SNAP benefits.
Who Needs SNAP?
One of the main things SNAP is used for is monthly groceries. Therefore with the shutdown families were unable to provide food for themselves and were forced to ration for over a month.
Those who require SNAP benefits are people who don’t have the resources or enough resources to provide properly for themselves or their family. This may include those unable to work, people who aren’t making enough, the elderly, the disabled, homeless, refugees and many more groups.
Feeding America is a government organization in charge of over 200 non profits and food pantries. In an article released by them it says, “SNAP or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, provides monthly funds to buy groceries. It is the largest anti-hunger program in America, helping over 41 million people in 2022.” This really shows just how many people needed assistance with funding for their families then and the prices have only gone up since then. With inflation clearly seen with grocery and living prices it is clear why some will struggle now more than before. The average price in Stevens Point of a two bedroom two bathroom house in 2022 was about 175K and now it’s about 300k. That’s almost doubled in price over the past two years. These prices can be found on zillow and similar sites.
And it’s not just people who are unemployed. Some of the people using SNAP have full or part time jobs and some even have multiple jobs. In an interview with Roseann Debot director of Operation Bootstrap she stated “It used to be that when someone got a job we knew at bootstrap we weren’t gonna see them again. They’d come in and say “I got a job now” and that’d be that and you know, that’s just not true anymore. Sometimes even two people are working and they still need some help“. Hearing this really broke my heart knowing that people can be trying to provide and do everything they’re supposed to be and it’s just not enough.
Operation Bootstrap
Many families were fortunate enough to be able to turn to food banks and food pantries. One of these food pastries is our local Operation Bootstrap located at 5000 Heffron St in Stevens Point. Established in 1969 by Roseann Debot, it is an all volunteer based organisation and does not get funds from the government. The official website states “No money is spent on administration. Almost 1,000 workers, including the executive director and board members, donate their time. All contributions are used for the needs of our community.” All items are donation based and are always in high demand. They provide things like food, clothing, houseware appliances, pet supplies, transportation, and more.
These things are necessary in Stevens Point, while small it is not easily walkable so a car or bus is needed to get many people to work and school. With costs of food many people need assistance feeding themselves and operation bootstrap provides two weeks worth of food each month based on the size of the household.
The organisation provides for all of Portage County and is unique to the area. With almost 600 families to provide for monthly operation bootstrap has a constant flow of clients in need and that only increased during the shutdown. As quoted from Roseann Debot “we had double. We had three days that we doubled what we usually do”. She noticed this increase in families coming in for help and stated it was double the usual number which is an average of about 30 families a day. Meaning for three days they had an average of 60 different families come in needing help. She also said that “we’ve also seen an increase in people that have never needed help before”. There were many people who needed help during the shutdown that otherwise wouldn’t need assistance.
How its Regulated
But they don’t just give help to anybody. Bootstrap has a strict process involving a referral from specific people. Most people go through emergency services, but some get referrals from school counselors, social workers and even some churches. This is the same with SNAP benefits, they have very specific requirements and regulate how much they give out. “SNAP benefits come on a card like a debit card. You can use it at local stores or farmers’ markets for groceries. The amount depends on your income and family size” explained Feeding America.
Lingering Emotions
As of now the shutdown has ended but many people have a lot of emotions regarding it. Families using these benefits are anxious about this happening again and are furious that it was able to happen at all. “People are going to distrust the government, and I think that people are going to be really angry about it for a long time,” said Jacqueline Giammona, someone who actively uses benefits, in an article posted by Jennifer Ludden. And Roseann said “And we were tense and worried the first few days after that came out. We could really tell the difference in the people when they’d come and they got worried, you know, that they weren’t gonna get it.”
Food pantries were also severely affected and struggled to keep up with the spike in demand. Supplies became limited and stretched thin and people were stressed. “For example, a food bank CEO told me she thinks she’s going to be short on stock for months, not only because people who ran their cupboards bare may be buying more than usual to get back to normal, but also because food orders that food banks get from the government couldn’t happen during the shutdown” said Tovia Smith in an NPR interview.
Changes Being Made
Not only were there effects during the shutdown but there will be changes made to the requirements and regulations for who can receive snap benefits. Mary Kekatos wrote “Under the megabill, refugees, asylum seekers and those granted legal protection for humanitarian reasons are no longer eligible for SNAP benefits, removing decades of federal precedent.This includes trafficking victims who were previously certified by the Department of Health and Human Services and Iraqi or Afghan special immigrant visa holders who worked with U.S. forces or agencies. Under CBO estimates, about 90,000 people in these categories will become ineligible for SNAP benefits”. This is huge. This will affect many families that need these resources.
Kekatos also states, “Estimates from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) published in August suggest that, as a result of the changes, more than three million Americans could lose assistance within the next few years.” These changes could be detrimental. These people will be forced into using other organisations who will not be properly equipped for the influx. This can then cause chaos and cause these organizations to fail and no longer be able to operate. As seen during the 2020 pandemic, panic happens quickly and we are not prepared as a society to handle it. Think back on how grocery stores were in the beginning of the pandemic. Shelves were empty, people were fighting over canned foods and toilet paper. People got injured and arrested and it was frightening for everyone.
Changes will also be made for those who are unhoused and parents of teens. People who don’t have easy times getting more work or getting a job. Parents need to have time to be parents and unhoused people struggle with employment and maintaining it. As Joel Berg, CEO of the nonprofit hunger relief organization Hunger Free America said, “It’s adding [exemptions] for veterans, as if they haven’t given enough to the country. It’s adding work requirements for parents of teenagers. It’s adding work reporting requirements for homeless people. How homeless people are going to be able to get and keep jobs is really beyond me”.
How Can You Help?
It’s important for people to know about these resources even if they don’t need to use them. People should stay up to date on the government and its effects on the community. Millions were affected by the simple decision to wait to sign a document. And with the possibility of this happening again possibly in the near future it’s important to know what to look out for and how to help.
Roseann stated “giving us help with food or with money, we can buy food usually cheaper when we buy it in large quantities. And so that’s why checks really help us. And sometimes they’re really good and bring things in often, things that might be needed in the household, like coffee makers and toasters”. These things can be extremely helpful in times of need. But if people are unable to donate items or money you can also contact bootstrap to possibly help volunteer and give time. This is really important when Bootstrap is as busy as it was as it can help move people through quicker and allow for more people to be helped efficiently.
