Four years of building The Community Grocer alongside Southwest Philadelphia residents and Pennsylvania farmers has shown me a simple reality: People get hungry in a variety of ways. They’re hungry for food and services. They’re hungry for a seat at the table. They’re hungry for representatives who understand their needs.
A U.S. Senate vote this summer on the largest cut to food assistance in American history threatens to make each of these hunger far worse. The Trump-backed plan puts SNAP — the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that helps families afford groceries — squarely in its sights.
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We’re talking about 9.5 billion meals that we risk losing on an annual basis.
In every corner of Pennsylvania I’ve seen how food assistance is quietly doing what government rarely gets credit for: working. It feeds over 1.5 million Pennsylvanians, can reduce poverty, and generates $1.50 in local economic activity for every $1 in SNAP benefits spent.
If this sounds like distant Washington politics, consider this: PA would lose nearly 490,000 jobs and see its economy shrink by $5.3 billion if the bill passes.
Cutting SNAP does not stand up for taxpayers, but turns away from families. It is not fiscally responsible, but hurts the most vulnerable Pennsylvanians. It does not cut the budget, but cuts meals.
I hear it every day: Donald Trump and Republicans plan to force states to cover SNAP costs — as the current House reconciliation bill promises — will hurt local economies and leave more families hungry. Parents tell me they worry their kids won’t be able to focus in school on an empty stomach. Older adults share fears that skipped meals will worsen chronic health conditions they’re already struggling to manage.
If you want to see how food assistance fuels Pennsylvania’s economy, go to the grocery store, not the Capitol.
So as Senators McCormick and Fetterman debate SNAP funding allocation, let’s talk about the reality on the ground. Cutting SNAP does not stand up for taxpayers, but turns away from families. It is not fiscally responsible, but hurts the most vulnerable Pennsylvanians. It does not cut the budget, but cuts meals.
Every U.S. Senator needs to hear from constituents — from you — about what these cuts would really mean. Call McCormick at (202) 224-6324 and Fetterman at (202) 224-4254. PA’s Senators must understand that SNAP supports farming communities and stabilizes economies across the state.
We need policies that invest in people —not punish them. The choice is before the Senate now. Demand McCormick and Fetterman hold public hearings in PA before they vote. Let them explain to grocery store owners in Scranton and farmers in Lancaster how losing billions in federal food assistance will help their businesses.
Ask them one question: How do you replace $5.3 billion in economic activity? Because that’s what PA loses if SNAP gets gutted. And if they don’t have an answer, tell them that SNAP and SNAP-Ed works. Period.
The time is now. The issues are critical. The need is visible and variable.
So make the call.
Eli Moraru is co-founder and president of The Community Grocer, a nonprofit organization working to make eating well accessible for all. He envisions a future where all Americans have access to the ingredients they need to live stronger, healthier lives. He is an appointee to the Philadelphia Food & Nutrition Security Task Force, a member of the Alliance to End Hunger, and Inno Under 25 Honoree.
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