Trump’s Food Assistance Cuts Having Impact on Michiganders

The Trump administration is expected to cut off food aid to more than 3 million people as part of a massive rollback of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as SNAP. 

Last week, the Agriculture Department, which handles the program, was bombarded by opinions from people all over the country as the window for public comment came to a close. Among the millions of people who could be impacted by the rollback of benefits are around half a million children who would lose access to free meals at school.

Forgotten Harvest CEO Kirk Mayes and Michigan League for Public Policy President Gilda Jacobs joined Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson to talk about the impact of these cuts on Michigan.

Jacobs says the SNAP benefits are a “lifeline for so many working families,” and adds that what is happening in Washington is “an attempt to change a technical rule behind the scenes.” The change centers around eliminating broad-based categorical eligibility, which Jacobs says would be “very detrimental to the health and well being of millions of people.” She also says that the change would affect about 150,000 people in Michigan, half of which are children.  

Mayes, whose organization delivers surplus food to local charities who then distribute it to people who need it, says “we are primarily getting our information about increased need from our agency partners. I can tell you that the lines are still filled with too many people, there are still a lot of requests for more food.” He adds that “these changes at the least these changes will stress these already strained resources.” Mayes says the shift in policy will probably lead people to rely more on their natural network: their family and friends. 

Click on the player above to hear the full conversation about the SNAP cuts.