It’s the first of November 2025, and SNAP benefits remain in limbo. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced their plans to pause distribution of benefits last Sunday, saying that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—previously known as food stamps—had run out of money as the government shutdown wore on. “The well,” they said, “has run dry.”
The decision would cut off support to the program’s nearly 42 million recipients—that’s 1 in 8 Americans. The program is a vital source of income for these families, and for many, it makes the difference between falling above or below the poverty line. It significantly reduces overall food insecurity nationwide while also improving the quality of nutrition for recipients, with a myriad of health benefits. It also has benefits for people beyond its direct recipients—it feeds into local businesses, stimulating economic gains for communities at large. The program has been in place since 1939 and has never faced a delay in payments in the eight decades since.
Experts warned that recipients would confront an “immense drop in their ability to put food on the table.” The vast majority of recipients are children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. A funding lapse thus represented an imminent crisis for some of the most vulnerable among our nation’s people.
In the face of this crisis, what did President Donald Trump do?
Are you able to assist us in this important work? If so, I’m humbly asking you to upgrade your subscription today to support our small but mighty team of regular Americans just like you. The Social Contract isn’t just a newsletter. It’s an active community that is challenging MAGA head-on and working to restore the social contract in the U.S. Thank you for your support!...
