This fall, during the government shutdown, the Trump administration took the unprecedented step of temporarily cutting off federal food benefits. But even before that, a growing number of Oregonians were struggling to put food on the table. And going forward, Oregon is facing the impacts of President Trump’s cuts to the Supplemental Food Assistance Program.
Rachael Lucille Jackson-Davis of the Oregon Food Bank talked to the City Cast Portland podcast about what hunger looks like right now:
Are you still seeing the ripple effects of the Trump administration’s pause on food benefits during the shutdown?
“Before the government shutdown and before the interruptions to SNAP in November, we were already in a hunger crisis. Since COVID, we've seen hunger continue to increase. Last year we saw a record number of visits — 2.5 million visits to the food assistance sites through the Oregon Food Bank Network, and that was a 31% increase from the previous year. Hunger is on the rise, and it will continue to get worse if we continue on this path.”
What is the Oregon Food Bank doing to prepare for the next wave of hunger?
“ We are definitely preparing for H.R. 1, the federal budget bill, which was passed in July. That bill implements the deepest cuts to the SNAP program that we have seen in its history. An estimated 1 million children nationwide could lose access to food assistance. Unfortunately, the Oregon Food Bank and the food banking system are not a replacement for SNAP. For every meal that the Oregon Food Bank Network can provide, SNAP provides nine.”
Who is going to be impacted by that cut?
“It is going to be felt by everyone. Even grocers are gonna feel it because those dollars that would normally be used in the stores — the folks who lose out on SNAP — they're not going to be able to go to the store with their money. So it's not just something that's gonna impact individuals. SNAP really does stimulate our economy a lot more than people would realize.”
