‘We can’t feed our kids!’: Memphians respond to November SNAP benefit freeze
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – In nine days, SNAP benefits in Tennessee will become unavailable due to the government shutdown, impacting hundreds of thousands of Memphians.
Memphians come to the Tennessee Department of Human Services every day to get set up with SNAP benefits, but now, many people are here asking questions about what will happen once their benefits become unavailable starting November 1.
“It goes out for the single mothers that got kids. Now what can we do?” asks Corneisha. “We can’t feed our kids. Let alone if we do have jobs. Again, what can we do? Cause that was helping us.”
Outrage and uncertainty: Those are two things many Memphians who have depended on SNAP, like Corneisha, are feeling as the benefits are set to freeze.
On its website, the Tennessee Department of Human Services confirmed this will be the case if the government shutdown continues into November 1.
This means nearly 700,000 Tennesseans, with roughly 152,000 living in Shelby County, will lose a food source many rely on to feed their families.
And it’s not just in Tennessee. Arkansas and Mississippi are also at risk of losing SNAP funding, which would leave about 240,000 in Arkansas and 385,000 Mississippians without benefits, too.
The Mid-South Food Bank says they conducted a pulse survey of their partner agencies across all three states and found that over half of the respondents noted an increased need for food assistance over the past three months. And that’s before any benefits were impacted.
State Senator London Lamar is calling on federal lawmakers to prioritize the people they serve over politics so no one has to go hungry.
“What you’re seeing is this Democrat/Republican fighting. People on opposite sides won’t come to the table and negotiate and put people first, that is going to kill our state, that is going to kill our country, and it’s most importantly going to hurt families and kids,” she said.
For now, there are still nine days left for those in Washington to come together and reopen the government before SNAP benefits are impacted.
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