Hungry Oklahomans
Gov't shutdown will halt SNAP, deepening poverty and harming retailers
Oklahomans already bracing for cuts in food assistance may be spiraling into crisis in just a couple of weeks if the federal government can’t get its act together.
This week the Oklahoma Department of Human Services received official notification from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will be suspended starting Nov. 1, if the government stalemate continues. That means 17% of the state’s population (about 684,800 Oklahomans) who rely on SNAP benefits to supplement their monthly food budget will go without help. That affects one in six Oklahomans.
There’s a ripple effect.
Not only will vulnerable people face greater hunger, but the retailers where recipients buy food will lose revenue. Oklahoma DHS issued about $1.5 billion in SNAP benefits in fiscal year 2024, according to the Center of Budget and Policy Priorities. For every $1 of SNAP benefits, it puts $1.50 back into Oklahoma economy, states Hunger Free Oklahoma.
The system shutdown will put enormous stress on food banks and pantries. Nonprofits and philanthropy do not have the capacity to replace SNAP, as some people have suggested. The food banks and pantries work with government to leverage tax and donation dollars for effective food distribution for specific programs.
This news comes after July’s budget reconciliation bill, dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill, will cut $295 billion over the next decade from SNAP. The bill also adds work requirements for recipients, reduces payments for administrative costs and implements a state match - something Oklahoma will struggle to maintain pace.
Oklahoma is expected to take the ninth highest SNAP reduction in the nation from the bill with a loss of $628 million, or about 39.3% of its current level, according to the Commonwealth Fund.
SNAP benefits do not cover the full cost of food for a person or family. It’s intended as a supplement, which helps financially struggling Oklahomans pay other bills.
The average monthly SNAP benefit is $187 per individual Oklahoman and $385 per household, as of February 2024. That’s far from living an extravagant life.
Here are a few things to know about Oklahoma SNAP:
66% of participants are in families with children;
33% of recipients are in families with older or disabled adults;
42% are in working families; and
37% of recipients are children.
Congressional gridlock has gotten frustratingly old. Voters elect representatives to keep the government open, transparent and operating effectively. We didn’t vote for them to halt government out of party loyalty.
Negotiation is a give and take, and Americans have allowed elected leaders to shift into an all-or-nothing mentality. We are not getting better for it.
As government workers lose pay and vulnerable people face deepening effects of poverty, members of Congress continue getting paid. Congressional members get $174,000 a year with those in leadership getting higher wages.
More than half of those serving in Congress are millionaires, according to Open Secrets in 2020. So those salaries aren’t their motivations. But, maybe if they went without pay, health benefits and food, maybe that would be a motivation.
At a minimum, they ought to volunteer regularly at a food pantry to meet, hear and understand how Oklahomans can go hungry even in a country of plenty.