The federal government shutdown began on October 1, 2025, and as of this writing, it has dragged on for 25 days, making it the second longest in U.S. history. The only longer one was during President Trump’s first term, which lasted 35 days.
This shutdown isn’t just political gamesmanship, it’s hurting real people. Thousands of federal workers have been furloughed without pay, and countless government services have been delayed or halted. But one of the most devastating impacts will soon hit home for millions of Americans: the loss of SNAP benefits.
What Is SNAP
SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (commonly called food stamps), is fully funded by the federal government through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. If the government remains shut down past November 1, 2025, the USDA will not release federal funds for the program. That means millions of low-income households, foster families, seniors, and people with disabilities could lose their food benefits and that’s no exaggeration.
According to the USDA’s Economic Research Service, in fiscal year 2024, 41.7 million Americans — roughly 12.3% of the nation’s population — relied on SNAP to help feed their families.
Demographically, African Americans are disproportionately represented among SNAP recipients, making up 26% of participants, compared to 36% White, 16% Latino, 3% Asian, 2% Native American, and 16% “Race Unknown.” The same USDA report shows that 86% of SNAP benefits go to households with children, elderly adults, or people with disabilities. About 75% of SNAP households live at or below the federal poverty line, and according to Pew analysis, nearly 40% are located in the South, regions where poverty and racial inequity already intersect most sharply.
Contrary to the misleading “welfare queen” stereotypes, many SNAP recipients are part of the working poor. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analyzed U.S. Census data and found that:
Welfare Queen Misnomer
“Among households who reported receiving SNAP at some point in 2021 and included a non-disabled, working-age adult, 86% had earnings in that year, based on analysis of the 2021 American Community Survey.”
This data makes it clear that most SNAP recipients who can work, do work. They’re simply not earning enough to meet the basic cost of living in America.
If this shutdown continues, the consequences will be devastating. Families already living paycheck to paycheck will be forced to choose between food and rent, groceries and medicine. As a nation, we cannot allow political dysfunction to starve our most vulnerable neighbors.
Let’s keep hope alive that the government reopens soon, because if it doesn’t, America could face a massive food and hunger crisis. The accurate measure of a nation’s character is not in how it treats its wealthy and powerful, but in how it protects its poor, its elderly, its children, and its most vulnerable citizens.
