Washington, D.C. – The U.S. House Committee on Agriculture will soon release its proposal for what are likely to be the largest cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in its history. A new Center for American Progress analysis shows that more than 27,000 retailers would be most likely to bear the brunt of proposed drastic cuts to food assistance. These retailers span across 303 counties and include 3,721 smaller grocery stores, 994 speciality stores, and 600 farmers and markets.
The effects of cuts to SNAP will be felt everywhere—from families’ budgets to small grocers, to communities’ local economies—but felt most strongly in areas with the highest rates of SNAP participation. This analysis finds that 95 percent of counties with the highest rates of people receiving SNAP already have limited access to retailers that accept SNAP benefits, with rural counties disproportionately affected. Of high-risk counties, 77 percent are in rural areas.
Sweeping and damaging cuts to food assistance will cut families’ budgets and lead to decreased spending on food and other household goods, causing ripple effects for communities’ local economies. Estimates show that these cuts could result in the loss of almost 78,000 food-related jobs in agriculture, retail grocery, and food processing, as well as 65,000 jobs in other industries, as local economies feel the impacts of decreased economic spending.
Cutting food assistance would destabilize the food industry amid a period of already great uncertainty,” said Kyle Ross, policy analyst for Inclusive Economy and co-author of the analysis. “Gutting food assistance will force grocery stores to cut staff and close in response to reduced food purchasing, further limiting access to food in communities across countries—whether you use SNAP or not.”
Read the analysis: “SNAP Cuts Are Likely to Harm More Than 27,000 Retailers Nationwide” by Kyle Ross and Kennedy Andara
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Sarah Nadeau at [email protected].