SNAP food assistance disruption hits West Virginia families hard

CNN’s Onita Norris

In Martinsburg, West Virginia, a single mother counts her money every day: how much her two children under five can eat and how much she will have to limit herself so that everything adds up.

She earns about $2,800 a month, working full-time at a state-owned enterprise. Part of the income goes to rent, the rest to child care and paying for electricity, water, and phone bills, leaving only about $100 a month for other needs, including food.

Assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) typically adds about $265 to her monthly food budget. However, due to government shutdown disruptions, payments were paused, so Norris now has to find other ways to feed her family.

“Instead of having a full plate of food myself, along with my children, I make sure they have a full plate of food. I can have less, or I may not eat,” Norris said.

Instead of having a full plate of food myself, along with my children, I make sure they have a full plate of food. I can have less, or I may not eat.

The Modern Reality: More Than 40 Million Rely on SNAP

Most Americans rely on SNAP assistance – food stamps – to cover their meals. At the same time, they find themselves in the middle of a long budget standoff between Republicans and Democrats in Congress, who have long been unable to reach an agreement on funding the government.

In West Virginia, the state that in 1961 became the first testing ground for the program now known as SNAP, about 15% of its 1.7 million residents use this aid.

Food Banks and the Pressure on Them

The state’s food banks are feeling the mounting strain: they had already faced budget cuts earlier in the year due to government restrictions, and further layoffs increase the demand for assistance.

One charity in Martinsburg – CCAP/Loaves & Fishes – reported in the third week of October a nearly twofold increase in the number of families they serve – from 72 to 159 per week, and later noted 119 in the fourth week of the month.

Although the organization can rely on the generosity of the community and local churches, there are concerns about how long and how steadily it will be able to sustain such a pace.

“Until SNAP payments resume and federal workers return to work, we will be just as busy all day,” said CNN president Leigh Fleming.

Yet a court ruling earlier in the week allowed partial funding for SNAP in November. However, these funds may fall short of full payments, and November benefits were deferred for millions of families.

Since then, Washington has voiced different positions: Trump threatened to halt SNAP funding until the Democrats vote to reopen the government, after which the White House clarified that the administration would follow a plan for partial food assistance during the shutdown.

In West Virginia, the U.S. government’s response has sparked confusion and disappointment.

“I just don’t think people in Washington really understand the seriousness of the situation. I don’t understand how food has become used in politics and has effectively become a political target.”

Laura Bowles, a mother of five children aged four to thirteen, explained to her older kids: “There are people in the government who can’t figure things out right now, and we can’t have everything we used to.” Her family usually buys less food as a result. “My kids eat a lot,” Bowles said. “And groceries are now so expensive – it was hard enough before,” Bowles added. Like Norris, she reduces her own food intake so that the children can get more.

Bowles’s husband works full time at Walmart, earning $14 an hour – and usually covers most of the bills. But this month, without SNAP, they have to split money between food and other expenses.

“I’ve already allowed myself to skip paying for trash and internet,” she said. “Only some of the electricity and car insurance costs are covered,” she added, so families have to cut trips to the park to save on fuel. “This is really tough. I’m pregnant again, and it wasn’t part of the plan – but that’s how God arranged it,” she said. “I think people around the world are facing hardship, but for West Virginia it’s especially so,” Bowles concluded.