{"id":3644,"date":"2025-11-14T16:49:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T16:49:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2025\/11\/14\/ann-arbor-responds-to-pause-in-snap-funding\/"},"modified":"2025-11-14T16:49:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T16:49:14","slug":"ann-arbor-responds-to-pause-in-snap-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2025\/11\/14\/ann-arbor-responds-to-pause-in-snap-funding\/","title":{"rendered":"Ann Arbor responds to pause in SNAP funding"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>On Nov. 1, the United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/news\/news-briefs\/michigan-residents-will-lose-snap-benefits-nov-1-amid-government-shutdown\/\">temporarily <\/a>paused the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ers.usda.gov\/topics\/food-nutrition-assistance\/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap\/key-statistics-and-research\"> Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program<\/a> due to insufficient funds caused by the federal government shutdown, leaving the 30,000 Washtenaw County residents who depend on monthly food benefits reeling. During the government shutdown, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/live-updates\/government-shutdown-latest-trump-signs-funding-federal-agences-opening\/\">ended<\/a> Wednesday, multiple local organizations and businesses took action to lessen the impact caused by the SNAP cuts. SNAP benefits have since resumed following the reopening of the federal government.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>More than 51,000 Washtenaw County residents<a href=\"https:\/\/hr.umich.edu\/benefits-wellness\/health-well-being\/mhealthy\/faculty-staff-well-being\/nutrition\/food-nutrition-security#:~:text=51%2C430%20(14%25)%20of%20residents,were%20food%20insecure%20in%202023.\"> identify as food insecure<\/a>, but not all have equal access to SNAP benefits, which require a specific set of eligibility<a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/mdhhs\/assistance-programs\/food\/eligibility\"> requirements<\/a>, taking household expenses, income and residency into account.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Mara Logan, shift manager and food access team member at Argus Farm Stop, said the shutdown emphasized the role local organizations can play in assisting the broader Ann Arbor community, even after SNAP benefits have been fully restored.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis has really highlighted that SNAP benefits don\u2019t bridge the gap for a lot of people,\u201d Logan said. \u201cI think it\u2019d be great if they did, but I also don\u2019t think that that\u2019s going to change anytime super soon. So in the meantime, it is the responsibility of organizations like Argus Farm Stop, Food Gatherers and Fair Food Network to help bridge that gap the best they can.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>Prior to the government shutdown, Argus already implemented many initiatives to expand food access, including discounted weekly produce boxes and partnerships with local food distribution organizations. When SNAP benefits initially paused, Argus rolled out additional initiatives such as<a href=\"https:\/\/www.argusfarmstop.com\/food-access\"> Round-Up at the Register,<\/a> raising more than $5,200 for their<a href=\"https:\/\/argus-farm-stop-weekly-produce-box.myshopify.com\/products\/donations-for-food-security\"> Food Security Fundraiser<\/a>, which provides vouchers redeemable for up to $40 on a purchase to help customers who rely on SNAP benefits.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom Nov. 1 \u2014\u00a0 which is when we started the initiatives that are currently ongoing \u2014 to now, we\u2019ve definitely noticed an uptick in how shoppers using EBT or SNAP are taking advantage of these programs,\u201d Logan said. \u201cAs more people who are using SNAP learn about these programs, they\u2019re starting to utilize them more, which is fantastic. We\u2019re seeing that our community is really engaged to support their community and our programs are offering a way to do that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Logan said Argus plans to continue these programs even as SNAP benefits are fully restored.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Detroit-based nonprofit<a href=\"https:\/\/fairfoodnetwork.org\/latest\/#\"> Fair Food Network<\/a> focuses on combating food insecurity around Michigan, and aimed to fill the gap caused by paused SNAP benefits through their participation in the<a href=\"https:\/\/doubleupfoodbucks.org\/\"> Double Up Food Bucks<\/a> program. The state-sponsored initiative partners with approximately 230 farmers markets and stores statewide, including Argus and the Ann Arbor Farmers Market, providing SNAP dollar users with vouchers they can spend on fresh produce.<\/p>\n<p>Holly Parker, chief strategy and program officer at Fair Food Network, told The Daily that food insecurity is an issue that goes beyond political differences.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-2    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cWhen anyone can\u2019t afford to buy groceries for their family, it hurts everyone, and that hunger is not a political issue,\u201d Parker said. \u201cI think that food and agriculture is a place where we can find common ground regardless of party orientation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Parker said food insecurity has the potential to cause compounding problems for affected families, which makes the work that organizations like Fair Food Network do even more important.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cImagine having to decide, \u2018Do I buy groceries for my family\u2019s dinner or do I put gas in my car to go to my job?\u2019\u201d Parker said. \u201cThese are the kinds of choices that immediately become very real and very difficult for families. It\u2019s not just that food becomes more difficult to buy, it\u2019s that all of it destabilizes the household and the family through it, and it has these ripple effects within that household.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/readymag.website\/u4276046255\/bountiful-pantries\/\">Bountiful Pantries<\/a> is a University of Michigan student-run organization and nonprofit aiming to provide a stigma-free approach to food access with outdoor, free-to-access 24\/7 pantries located in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Metro Detroit and also served as a source of food access amid the SNAP benefit pause.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>LSA sophomore Divya Thumma, internal vice president of Bountiful Pantries, said in an interview with The Daily policymakers need to be more in touch with their constituents to truly understand the impact of their policies.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-3    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cI wish that policymakers would come out and talk to the people that SNAP affects the most, just because when you\u2019re sitting from a position of authority and a position of power, you don\u2019t really think about the people that you\u2019re working for,\u201d Thumma said. \u201cYes, we\u2019re in a democracy, but at the same time, these policymakers are not individually going to different counties, especially with marginalized communities and people who have a lower income. I think the real problem is that they\u2019re coming from such a high-level perspective that they forget that these are real people, and these are real constituents that they\u2019re working with.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Washtenaw County was ranked as the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aaacf.org\/news\/economic-division-washtenaw\"> most economically divided county in Michigan<\/a>, and the 44th<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aaacf.org\/news\/economic-gap-report\"> most divided<\/a> in the United States. In an interview with The Daily, Betsey Stevenson, professor of public policy and economics, said the relative wealth of Ann Arbor often masks food insecurity, posing problems for low-income community members beyond those caused by the government shutdown.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe often think of Ann Arbor as a wealthy community, but there is more food insecurity here than many of the students, or even many of the well-off faculty members, might see,\u201d Stevenson said. \u201cThere\u2019s probably a lot of people who were getting by with SNAP benefits who are not getting by now, and who don\u2019t necessarily want to let people know they\u2019re in that situation. Figuring out how you can help people while preserving their dignity is really important.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Stevenson also spoke about the importance of safety nets like SNAP, even for those who are not currently using it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s important to realize that the typical American will rely on the safety net at some point, and that\u2019s the reason we have a safety net,\u201d Stevenson said. \u201cYou might find yourself getting laid off and not being prepared and not having expected it. There are a lot of people who worry about how much effort people are putting in to work and to lifting themselves. What I find is that most people are doing their best to right their own ship, and you can\u2019t work on righting your own ship if you\u2019re hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-4    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p><em>Daily Staff Reporter Anuttara Lath can be reached at anuttara@umich.edu.<\/em><\/p>\n<aside>\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p><h3 class=\"jp-relatedposts-headline\"><em>Related articles<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Nov. 1, the United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service temporarily paused the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program due to insufficient funds caused by the federal government shutdown, leaving the 30,000 Washtenaw County residents who depend on monthly food benefits reeling. During the government shutdown, which ended Wednesday, multiple local organizations and businesses [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3645,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[242,243,2333,3644,3046,2435],"class_list":{"0":"post-3644","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-ann","9":"tag-arbor","10":"tag-funding","11":"tag-pause","12":"tag-responds","13":"tag-snap"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3644"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3644\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3646,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3644\/revisions\/3646"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}