Proposed Budget Slashes SNAP Funding

For many people in our service area and throughout the state, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, means the difference between eating and going hungry.

The 2018 federal budget proposed by the Trump administration seeks to trim SNAP’s budget by more than 25 percent, which would have detrimental effects for millions. Budget documents released by the Office of Management and Budget indicate that federal SNAP funding would decrease by more than $190 billion over a decade, Politico reported.

Perhaps even more significant, the Trump budget seeks to force states to pay a portion of SNAP benefit costs. For Illinois, mired in its own budget crisis with unpaid bills mounting, the added costs of some $760 million would mean program cuts and people cut off from vital food assistance.

Here’s what would happen if states were compelled to cut benefits under the proposal, according to a report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:

• SNAP benefits would no longer support the minimal cost of a healthy diet. 
• Geographic disparities in food insecurity and poverty would increase. 
• Increased food insecurity would drive up other government costs
• SNAP would no longer respond effectively to recessions.

View full budget review from Center on Budget and Policy Priorities