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Alex Carter is a policy advocate for food security and affordable health care at Maine Equal Justice, a nonprofit civil legal aid and economic justice organization working to increase economic security, opportunity, and equity for people in Maine.
Do you support our federal government taking grocery money out of the pockets of Mainers struggling to pay their bills, even as the cost of living squeezes family budgets? How about sending the bill to states, knowing places like Maine are unlikely to be able to pay? What if it was all to pay for more tax cuts to multi-millionaires and billionaires?
If you said, “no,” “no,” and “heck no,” then you’ll want to pay attention to what’s coming next in Washington, D.C.
President Donald Trump and his Republican allies are putting pens to paper right now, deciding exactly how much of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to take away from all 50 states. The deadline for congressional committees to share their plans with the public is only days away. Unless we pay attention and act quickly, more than 172,000 people in Maine could be left with fewer options to feed themselves and their families.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, Trump’s allies in Congress are using sneaky language and budgeting gimmicks to dress these drastic and unpopular cuts up and hide them from the American public — until the damage is done and it’s too late to do much about it.
As an organization that works alongside Maine people with low income, we have a simple message you can take to Maine’s members of Congress: Don’t gut SNAP, a program that helps Maine’s older adults, people with disabilities, veterans, families with young children, and people with low-wage jobs buy the food they need.
SNAP is our nation’s most effective anti-hunger program. Millions of people use it to shop for groceries and put healthy meals on the table, including 1 in 8 people here in Maine.
SNAP also plays an unsung but very important role in our communities and our economies. The program supports hundreds of Maine jobs across our agricultural, grocery, manufacturing, and transportation sectors. Every federal SNAP dollar spent generates $1.50 to our local economies.
SNAP benefits can be used at farmers’ markets and farm stands, keeping those dollars local and putting them directly in the pockets of Maine’s farmers. In 2024, Maine farmers and farmers markets earned more than $680,000 through SNAP purchases alone. Every cent was paid directly to farmers and food producers at farmers’ markets, keeping those dollars local and supporting rural economies. At a time of deep uncertainty and chaos, our farmers need to know SNAP will support customers with low incomes who buy their produce and products.
Lawmakers know how unpopular it is to take food off the plates of hungry families, which is why they are trying to call these cuts by any other name. If you hear them say “cost sharing,” that means sending a hefty bill to the states (in Maine, we could see $86 million in new annual budget costs for SNAP alone). If you hear them say “streamlining” that’s likely code for cutting the (already modest) benefit amount. “Improved eligibility” actually means adding complex reporting requirements that trip people up and cause them to lose SNAP and go hungry.
There’s also talk about hiding the ball from the American public by billing states or slashing benefits after midterm elections.
No matter what they call it, the result is the same: taking food away from struggling Mainers to pay for tax cuts for the rich.
It’s cruel, financially irresponsible, and harmful, and Maine people won’t be fooled.
We need everyone, from everyday Mainers, grocers, local and state leaders, and our members of Congress, to speak up and say hands off SNAP.
In order to grow, study, work and thrive, Maine people need nutritious food — and they’re hungry for leaders who represent their interests.