SNAP Delays, or, Playing Hardball with Thanksgiving

An It Doesn't Have To Be This Way special feature

Staff Writer, Mortellus, Editor in Chief

Frog Level, October 27—For you folks sitting around the break room over at our local Mega Mart and trying to figure out why it is you can't afford groceries with a full time job? We wanted you to know that unless something changes and quick, come November there will be no SNAP disbursements, but we also wanted you to be able to explain it to others who might not understand what's happening so It Doesn't Have To Be This Way is jumping off the photocopied page, and taking over this website temporarily.

The skinny is that the folks in D.C. couldn’t agree on how, exactly, they ought to fund America—with some convinced that we’re out here using Medicaid on folks from Finland or something. Now we need y'all to know that what they actually mean by “emergency medical services to undocumented immigrants” is this: if some college exchange student whose visa ran out (because lord knows that if I can't get my college-aged youngin' to do paperwork mammas in Finland ain't gettin' it done neither) has their appendix burst, the emergency room that has to treat them gets reimbursed. And last I checked, none of us want somebody’s kid dying in a hospital parking lot because they didn’t have the right documents in their pocket.

But some Republicans, who I reckon' didn't have enough bathroom breaks to read all 51 pages and just got mad at the table of contents instead, have decided they won’t pass a dang thing unless it guts Medicaid. Some Democrats (bless ‘em, we oughta mail them a pie) said, 'We know it’s gonna hurt for a minute, but we can’t agree to let y’all take health insurance away from a bunch of folks, hike premiums for nearly everybody else, or feed people today just so y'all can starve millions of people later with benefit cuts.'

So here we are with hungry people, worried folks staring at empty insulin vials, and a stalemate where neither side wants to blink first because it's “Fund food now,” vs “Y’all best talk insurance now.” And yes, SNAP itself is on the choppin' block—this ain't just an insurance fight; some in D.C. are deliberately trying to restructure and cut the program while they play chicken with the federal budget. That means all them folks in suits whinin’ and moanin’ about how Democrats won’t fund SNAP have their fingers crossed behind their backs while they do it.

And here’s the kicker—a government shutdown has never once meant folks didn’t get SNAP. Washington has a rainy-day fund just for moments like these. The money’s already there—five billion dollars in the USDA's cookie jar—but apparently a whole country of people staring down Thanksgiving with empty plates ain’t rainy enough. And make no mistake, this ain't an accident, it’s a choice, because while every president before Trump found a way to feed the people, this one found a way to prove he wouldn’t.

So, the USDA says, 'our backup fund is for disasters, not groceries,' meanwhile, folks in the Senate are complainin' that Democrats keep voting down the funding bill, and are responsible for SNAP running dry, while Democrats just want you to know that they won't vote on this unless they can save your insurance, continuing ACA tax credits, or whatever else you rely on, but the Republicans refuse to let this happen. So yes, Democrats are holding out—not to starve folks, but to make sure your memaw can still get her insulin in addition to keeping SNAP funded like it was up to now.

It’s funny, ain’t it? The same folks who built their brand on “the art of the deal” don’t like it when somebody deals right back at 'em. And don't you forget for a minute that the president, like every president before him, could feed y’all while they work out their negotiations, but he’s making a choice not to. After years of bragging about playing hard-ball, he’s mad that somebody finally threw the ball back. The problem is, it’s the people down here—not the politicians—who are getting beaned in the head with it.

That's the word from Frog Level.

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Indivisible Rutherford NC would like you to know that while our resources are limited, we can and will help those who we can. If you know of someone struggling during this shut-down, send them our way (or reach out on their behalf) and we'll get some food to you, no questions asked. If you'd like to support mutual aid efforts in our community such as these, click here to donate via our sister organization and 501(c)3, The Coven of Leaves.

Please bear in mind that that's a different fund from our ActBlue, which we use for operational expenses, advocacy work, and community events.