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Facing SNAP’s uncertain future: What it means and how students can help

  • Frances Aebker
  • 5 minutes ago
  • 5 min read

Here is what to know about the evolving status of SNAP assistance and how these changes are affecting the most vulnerable — both across the nation and within our Morningside Heights community. What does this volatility signal about the future of food insecurity and social safety net programs in America? 

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Photo by Sherry Chen/The Barnard Bulletin

Novembe 27, 2025

As the six-week government shutdown draws to a close, uncertainty surrounding America’s social safety net programs, particularly the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, remains unrelenting.


The lapse in funding during the shutdown hit especially close to home for residents of Morningside Heights and Harlem, where thousands rely on SNAP to meet basic nutritional needs. Food insecurity, though, is not unique to New York City, as the national population dependent on SNAP is over 40 million people, that is, one in every eight Americans.


As expected, the immediate consequences of suspended benefits were visible across the nation: overrun food banks and limited volunteers as families prepared to fill the gap in aid, not knowing how long they would be forced to go without food. Early data reports that depict much longer-lasting effects of the SNAP cuts have already been circulating. Namely, when SNAP benefits became unpredictable, even after the government reopened, households did not merely eat less, they borrowed — meaning they were forced to take out loans — and this type of borrowing is likely to continue as SNAP dismay persists. This reaction increases future liability through hikes in “debt and delinquencies,” falling behind on rent, lowering the household earners’ credit scores, and therefore, making steady employment an even harder feat.


Economist and Barnard College professor, Dr. Ashley Timmer, emphasized this point: “Households may borrow money and take on more debt to pay for food,” suggesting that even short periods of uncertainty create long-term poverty traps, especially when the shock involves food insecurity. This volatility in policy becomes the very mechanism that entrenches vulnerable families in penury.


Although the shutdown has technically ended, uncertainty has not. And the end of this uncertainty for those most reliant on basic need programs, is nowhere in sight. The newest sentiment from the Trump administration and the Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins, regarding the reinstatement of SNAP payments, is that all SNAP beneficiaries will be required to reapply for benefits to stay in the program post-shutdown. In Rollins’ words, to qualify for SNAP, the recipient must prove they “can’t survive without it.” Rollins did not offer further information about how judgement will be made on this front, nor did she explain how long households will go without reinstated aid.


This change is positioned to reevaluate need and rid the system of supposed mass fraud. Both Rollins and President Trump have been outspoken about their concerns that widespread fraud — accidental, like administrative errors, and intentional — is also infiltrating the SNAP program and unjustly ramping up costs for taxpayers. Some examples of such fraud include deceased individuals who are still receiving household benefit checks or households that significantly underreport income. The validity and scale of these claims remain unclear. What is clear, however, is that these claims work to delegitimize the efficacy and importance of food security programs for those who do truly need it. This instillation of doubt, combined with oversimplified rhetoric, is incredibly dangerous, especially when the stakes are grounded in basic human needs. 


President Trump recently stated, “[SNAP] wasn’t meant for people who could do whatever they want, the people that say, ‘well I don’t think I’ll work, I’ll just, you know, collect this money.’”


Although this statement gestures toward a real phenomenon, it oversimplifies and mischaracterizes poverty in the U.S. and the subsequent structural failures of the welfare state that reinforce this reality. 


In a system where only those who prove “they can’t survive” without SNAP are granted assistance, benefit cliffs will develop. Benefit cliffs emerge when a slight increase in earnings boosts a household above the poverty line, which triggers their ineligibility for various welfare programs, leaving the household at a net financial loss for working more. However, benefits often do not end neatly at the poverty line as phaseouts are uneven across different programs. The most pain is felt by the near-poor, those who face the cumulative phase-outs of programs like SNAP, Medicaid, and Section 8 all at once, just as they attempt to escape poverty. 


As Dr. Timmer described the above: “It often discourages second earners in two-adult households, because once you earn even slightly above the poverty line, you lose eligibility for many welfare services. In this system, working makes you worse off… You can end up losing more than a dollar in benefits for an additional dollar earned.”


Millions of families now face the grim reality that their SNAP-related anxiety will continue long after the end of the shutdown. Without clear expectations on how to “reapply” for benefits or what the new qualification standards will be, now is a critical time to donate food and, if you are able, volunteer your time to local food banks. 


Isaac Alderstein, the Executive Director of Broadway Community, an organization that operates a soup kitchen, food bank, and homeless shelter that neighbors Barnard and Columbia on Broadway and 114th Street, spoke with The Bulletin about how uncertainty surrounding SNAP assistance has affected the organization. He explained that demand has remained at the highest level it has ever been, even after the shutdown.


“People were not surprised to see SNAP fall by the wayside during the shutdown. Our people are, unfortunately, used to being disappointed and burned by the system. Although for many people, this was their first time ever visiting a soup kitchen,” said Alderstein.


Charitable food organizations are a vital component in helping those in need; however, they cannot come close to adequately filling the gap in hunger created by an expansive cut or reduction in welfare programs. 


SNAP provides nine meals for every one meal provided by charitable food organizations, such as Broadway Community. 


Alderstein further noted that although there has been an outpouring of anxiety voiced by the patrons, there has also been an outpouring of gratitude. As the holidays and colder weather approach, hot meals, beds, and medical services will remain in high demand for folks in our Morningside Heights and West Harlem community, especially as the changes in SNAP coverage remain unknown. 


Volunteers and donations are essential for charitable food organizations to operate, and the need for extra hands has never been greater. 


“Every week we are in need of volunteers. We are a Monday through Friday operation, as it pertains to emergency food and would greatly welcome anyone who wants to lend their time and energy to help,” said Alderstein.


For the many Barnumbians without classes on Friday, consider reaching out to Broadway Community, or a Columbia-Barnard affiliated organization like Community Impact or the Access Barnard food pantry. If you need food-security-related assistance or are looking to help, a more comprehensive list of on-campus resources is below.



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