Last week, Rural Organizing sent a petition to the Trump administration demanding they stop playing politics with SNAP benefits, and more than 85,000 people joined us in that call to action. Since then, we’ve reached out to over 100 SNAP recipients across the country, tracking updates and staying in communication as families wait for the benefits they depend on. If you have a SNAP story, please share it with us here.
Right now, less than one-third of the folks we’ve heard from have received their November benefits. In some states, families only saw partial payments after their governors authorized emergency payments. The Trump administration is continuing to fight against releasing food assistance to families in the courts, and Republican officials have even threatened to claw back the money governors have already released in food assistance. We’ll be following this closely until everyone gets their food assistance and will share major updates as we get them.
To everyone affected, we want to say: Stay strong, and keep showing up. It’s more important than ever that we remain engaged and refuse to back down. This administration and its Republican enablers in Congress are willing to starve Americans as leverage to cut our healthcare. To fight back for our families, we need to try everything we can: telling our stories, protesting in our communities, and taking care of our neighbors when the government refuses to. If you are fired up and want to take the next steps, fill out our survey so we can match with you with what you need.
The 52 Republican Senators and eight Senate Democrats who caved this weekend do not define the seven million of us who stood shoulder to shoulder, in rural towns and big cities alike, to say no to kings and no to the cruel games that Trump and his allies want to play with our lives. And those same lawmakers do not define the millions more of us who will keep fighting for a life we can afford.
All of us at RuralOrganizing.org are in this fight with you today and for the long haul.
The State of Washington released the SNAP benefits on EBT cards last Friday. As a retired attorney who practiced mainly pro bono family law, I depend on them. I checked with the phone number on my card and then went shopping for groceries. Even through the ping pong efforts of this shitshow administration, my benefits haven’t been recalled.