By April Ryan
November 1, 2025, SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits will not be issued to 42 million Americans, further creating food insecurity in this nation. However, with the cut in benefits, specifically “Black communities are facing a coordinated assault on our progress and our very survival,” emphasizes Esosa Osa of Onyx Impact.
“The SNAP cuts and federal furloughs hitting tomorrow are not isolated events—they are part of a broader campaign to erase our history, distort the truth, and suppress our futures,” adds Osa. The United States Department of Agriculture(USDA) has a $5 billion contingency fund that could continue SNAP benefits until the middle of November if Republicans choose to do so. Over a month into the government shutdown, the GOP has not released the money to slow the financial and nutritional harm to Americans.
Meanwhile, some local and state governments are trying to fill in the nutrition gap, like Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser. The District of Columbia will use local $29 million in contingent funds to ensure 85,000 residents receive their November SNAP benefits despite the federal government shutdown. And in neighboring Maryland, Governor Wes Moore has created $10 million in grants for food assistance.
The National breakdown of those impacted includes:
CHILDREN:
16 MILLION
SENIORS:
8 MILLION
PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES:
4 MILLION
VETERANS:
1.2 MILLION
According to reports in the Washington Post from a 2023 SNAP survey on percentages:
Children (39%)
Over 60 (20%)
Disabled adults under 60 (9%)
Full-time caregivers (7%)
Other exemption from work requirements (9%)
Full-time employment (5%)
Other adults (13%)
“The disinformation that SNAP ‘only benefits Black people’ is a lie designed to divide and distract….But Black families are hit hardest when these lifelines are cut, because we are overrepresented in the jobs and communities targeted by these policies,” states the leader of the organization that issues the BlackOut report, a comprehensive look at Black America. Osa concludes, “Our new Blackout report documents over 15,000 direct attacks on Black lives and opportunity in just eight months, from slashing $3.4 billion in grants for Black health and education to deleting the very data that proves our needs.”
