In October, people learned that SNAP benefits would be suspended on November 1 due to the government shutdown. Here's how that affects young people.
In October, Gamble learned that SNAP benefits would be suspended on November 1 due to the government shutdown. “It’s kind of heartbreaking,” Gamble told Teen Vogue. Gamble, who lives with her partner and their dog, said, “We’re trying to make it, but it’s been hard.
” She’s far from alone. The almost 42 million people who participate in SNAP are experiencing a gap in benefits after the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers SNAP at the federal level, declined to use almost $5 billion in emergency funds to cover the cost of the program for November. On October 31, two judges ruled that the Trump administration had acted unlawfully by refusing to use these funds to cover SNAP during the government shutdown. The USDA stopped funding SNAP on November 1 for the first time in the program’s 60-year history, according to NPR. In a November 3 court filing responding to one of the judge’s orders, the Trump administration said it would partially fund SNAP for the month, meaning people are expected to receive only half their usual benefits. While the administration could have used tariff revenue to provide full funding, it opted not to do so, saying it’s saving that money for child nutrition programs, according to the court filing. SNAP benefits were already delayed due to the funding lapse; now officials warned it could take weeks to months for the payments to kick in. On November 4, Trump flip-flopped: Despite a previous post on Truth Social that it would be an 'honor' to fund the program that he is legally obligated to fund, and his administration’s court filing stating that it would provide partial funding, he posted on his social media platform that he will block funding to SNAP until the government shutdown ends. The White House declined to comment to The Wall Street Journal, instead directing the outlet to the social media post. Meanwhile, the loss and uncertainty has already been devastating. SNAP helps those with low incomes afford groceries; the program losing funding could cause the largest “greatest hunger catastrophe in America since the Great Depression,” Joel Berg, CEO of the nonprofit Hunger Free America, told The Guardian ahead of the funding lapse. The Trump administration already made what a number of experts have called the largest cuts to SNAP in history in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The bill also imposed new requirements that could have an outsized impact on the almost 3 million young adults who rely on the program, according to the think tank the Urban Institute. “I know that folks are scared, and we talk about it as a political decision and as a bargaining tool and a policy question, but this is impacting real people’s lives,” Alexis Newman, director of campus programs at Student Basic Needs Coalition, told Teen Vogue. Ahead of the November 3 decision, Teen Vogue spoke to young adults who described how uncertainty around what could happen with SNAP was already taking a toll. “I have a lot of peers that I’m around where that is a reality—that when SNAP benefits are at risk of being taken away or being delayed, that means that their kid or themselves are not getting a meal,” said Gracie Armstrong, 23, a student and parent in Maryland who recently reapplied for SNAP. Cale Johnson, a 20-year-old student in Nebraska who told Teen Vogue SNAP was a resource for him and his family up until 2023, thinks back to being 11, and knowing even then “that a government shutdown would equate to not being able to purchase groceries and that we’d have to rely on my school lunch program and go to food pantries.” Nandy, a 22-year-old in Kentucky who is going by his first name due to privacy concerns, said his family has been on SNAP as long as he can remember. A year ago, Nandy was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, and most of the food he’s supposed to eat, he told Teen Vogue, is more expensive than other options. He’ll look at Walmart and Kroger trying to price out what items are lowest where; since October, he’s been eating one meal a day to stretch food out as much as possible. Both not being able to afford food because of the possible loss of SNAP and skipping meals is harming his health, he says: “It’s like a death sentence for people like me.” According to the American Diabetes Association, food insecurity and skipping meals can increase risk of complications for individuals with type 1 or type 2 Diabetes. Even following the court rulings deeming the Trump administration’s decision not to fund SNAP unlawful, uncertainty is still impacting Nandy. The Trump administration has ignored federal judges before, he said, and could do it again. Nandy has heard stereotypes that Gen Z is lazy or entitled. But what young people really want is a better life, Nandy said. And participating in government assistance programs doesn’t make someone lazy, he added. “It’s about survival,” he said. Who uses SNAP? A May 2024 survey by Purdue University’s Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability reported that food insecurity was highest among Gen Z relative to other generations, and 37% of Gen Z or millennials reported pulling from their savings or racking up debt to pay for food purchases. Other surveys have found that young people of color are disproportionately impacted. LGBTQIA+ young people are also more likely to experience higher rates of hunger, according to the national campaign No Kid Hungry’s Center for Best Practices. According to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, SNAP helps an average of 1 in 8 people in the U.S. per month, making it the largest anti-hunger program in the country. SNAP improves health outcomes and helps alleviate food insecurity, research suggests. The amount of money recipients receive from SNAP depends on factors such as income, household size, and expenses. But as of 2024, SNAP benefits also reportedly weren’t keeping up with rising food costs to cover even “modestly priced” meals in 99 percent of U.S. counties, according to analysis from the Urban Institute—which makes further cuts all the more devastating. “We know that SNAP benefits are a critical lifeline for all the 40-plus million Americans who get SNAP benefits,” said Julia Wolfson, associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School. For young people working lower-wage jobs, attending school, or balancing different responsibilities, the loss of SNAP will mean “less to fall back on.” When you don’t have that, Wolfson told Teen Vogue, “it can have ripple effects even beyond food.” Gina Plata-Nino, interim SNAP director for the Food Research & Action Center, a nonprofit centered on the nutrition and well-being of people experiencing poverty-related hunger, told Teen Vogue the main beneficiaries of SNAP are children, people with disabilities, and older adults. SNAP also plays a crucial role in supporting workers in a “volatile labor market,” with many people using program benefits while looking for work or when they have low or fluctuating wages, according to the think tank Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins had declined to use the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s contingency funds to fund SNAP as the government shutdown continues, despite a number of experts having said that the administration has a “legal obligation” to fund SNAP and doing otherwise defies precedent, including by the Trump administration. Instead of using the funds to ensure people are fed, the USDA placed a banner on its website announcing that 'the well has run dry.” Despite having the funds to at least partially cover benefits, the administration made no move to fund SNAP until the federal judges' rulings. The administration’s actions are making people feel helpless, said Plata-Nino: “It’s not their fault that everything has gone up in price and they’re struggling, and this system that is supposed to help them and protect them, you have a secretary of agriculture who is just refusing to utilize the authority . These are people’s lives that are going to be disrupted.” A basic needs crisis Students are having to do “critical triaging” around basic needs, said Newman. Even before the crisis surrounding SNAP, about 59% of students surveyed experienced at least one form of basic needs insecurity, according to the Temple University Hope Center's 2023–2024 Student Basic Needs Survey Report. For example, Newman heard from a student who had a car repair bill that impacted their ability to get to work and class, which affected their income and grades. “That $292 a month that they’re receiving from SNAP could be the difference between them being able to eat and pay that bill,” Newman explained. With campus closures over holiday breaks looming, for students using SNAP, that government assistance might be the difference between them having somewhere to go and being unhoused, Newman said. New work requirements will impact those who work under 20 hours a week, have dependents aged 14 or older, or have recently aged out of foster care, and veterans, among others, which experts say will make it harder for people to access benefits. This could lead to more students falling through the cracks, explained Newman. According to The Hope Center report, 41% of students surveyed across 91 colleges experienced food insecurity. Armstrong, the Maryland student and parent, began using SNAP at 19. She worked two jobs during the first several months of her pregnancy, and relies on income from working part-time from home, plus picking up odd jobs periodically. At the same time, she’s completing college through distance learning, so she can be with her daughter during the day. Armstrong told Teen Vogue it’s important to know that even people who have help rely on these programs: She lives with her parents and is grateful for their emotional support, but her family has always struggled financially. Armstrong pays for all her and her daughter’s expenses herself. She’s paid for college with scholarships, including through Generation Hope, which supports young parents through mentoring, tuition assistance, and more. Armstrong said she’s lucky to have these resources. Student parents are using resources like SNAP to help finish school and reach financial independence, Armstrong said: “When those are taken away, we’re at risk of not being able to focus on our goals. It means that we may have to stop going to school so that we can work more hours.” Uncertainty over SNAP delays “builds this anxiety of, ‘Well, if this is going to be taken away, what else is?’” Armstrong added. K–12 students are also seeing the effects of SNAP delays. According to the National Education Policy Center, almost 39% of SNAP beneficiaries are under the age of 18. Schools across the country have rushed to partner with food banks, stock food pantries, and connect students and families to resources in an effort to help. But according to some reporting, both students and staff members were already feeling the impacts even before the funding officially lapsed, leaving school communities “scrambling” to get ahead of the detrimental effects of hunger. Finding resources and providing support SNAP is the most effective anti-hunger program in the country, per the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Even amid uncertainty around the program, Newman encourages students to screen for eligibility and apply for SNAP as soon as possible, explaining there’s a “college SNAP gap,” where roughly two-thirds of eligible students weren’t receiving benefits as of 2020, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. 'We still want them to apply, because no matter what is happening at the federal level and how long it takes them to figure it out, the fact of the matter is that these programs are not going anywhere,” she said. They direct students toward the Student Basic Needs Coalition’s tool NAAVY, which assists with SNAP and Medicaid enrollment. Wolfson, the Johns Hopkins professor, advised contacting state and local health departments to see what resources might be available to help with making ends meet, including in regard to rental assistance. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities also has a page on how to determine if you qualify for SNAP, including a link to state-by-state local human services offices. Wolfson also suggested reaching out to community centers, churches, schools, food pantries, and food banks. Despite food banks being stretched thin by rising food insecurity, and the Trump administration cutting $500 million worth of deliveries of food aid to them, these organizations and anti-hunger groups are working to meet higher demand. “While we will do everything we can to be there for those affected, it’s important to understand that no charitable organization can replace the critical support SNAP provides,” Nicole Hunt, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy for Food Bank For NYC, which provides food and resources to a network of over 800 soup kitchens, food pantries, schools and colleges, and healthcare partners, told Teen Vogue via email. Hunt encouraged advocating, donating, and volunteering. “There is no wrong way to support us or any food bank,” said Hunt, adding that food banks have a lot of wholesale buying power, so if you have the resources to do so, donating makes a difference. Hunt directs New Yorkers to the organization’s website to find resources, and notes that you can find a map of food banks near you at FeedingAmerica.org. Mutual aid can also play a crucial role in filling the gap; as reported by Teen Vogue, throughout history, communities have turned to mutual aid to support each other in countless ways. Resources like Mutual Aid Hub offer a map of networks across the country, including food resources. Some ideas on how to contribute include bringing food to local community fridges in your area or joining mutual aid groups, which you can often find via Facebook groups or Instagram pages, near you in order to share resources with your community whenever possible. Many local journalism outlets are publishing stories that include information about where to get food locally, or how to support community members, so check media outlets near you for more information. Gamble, in Texas, implores people to be vocal about resources in order to help others: “It’s literally affecting any and everyone.”
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