Late Friday night, the U.S. The Supreme Court paused a decision by lower courts requiring the United States Department of Agriculture, USDA, to release full funding to states to administer November SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits.
Courts could require the Trump administration to issue payments in full as early as Wednesday morning.
More than 750,000 Alabamians, including more than 300,000 Alabama families 一 who supplement their grocery budgets through SNAP一 could continue to go hungry for at least another week while the shutdown continues. The USDA must act on its clear legal authority and disperse all available funding to address this crisis.
When SNAP benefits lapsed, I called one of my siblings. They are transient, disabled, and have already started to look hollow around the face from weight loss since giving birth in April.
“Do you have enough food?”
They hesitated. “Did mom tell you?”
“No, this is my job.”
I am Alabama Arise’s hunger policy advocate, but I’m not sure which job I was talking about.
In a recent New York Times article, Dr. Jasmine Hill, associate professor of Sociology and Public Policy at UCLA, shared that “Black families, and Black women particularly, have had to figure out ways to essentially be an unhonored social safety net in the United States.”
You Might Ask: How Did Race Get in it?
Last week, Sen.Tommy Tuberville chose to use racist, hateful language to perpetuate false stereotypes about people on SNAP instead of using his power and influence to make sure Alabamians on SNAP do not go hungry.
“It’s their constituents, a lot of them, in some of these inner cities, that are going to need SNAP to survive, and they’re getting a lot of calls,” Tuberville said in an MSNBC interview. “[There’s] a lot of young men on SNAP that should be working.”
Tuberville’s comments show a disregard for our rural Black communities here in Alabama, and female-headed households, who face some of the greatest barriers to food access in the nation, while distracting white working-class Alabamians who are overrepresented in SNAP rolls from the legitimacy of shared basic needs.
Tuberville continued his tirade at Auburn University, signaling that folks should build two-parent homes, after voting to pass racist and sexist “man-in-the-house rules.”
In July, Senator Tuberville and Britt voted “yes” on a reconciliation package that requires every adult in a household to comply with burdensome work reporting requirements. So who will watch the kids, Coach? Alabama families already struggle to pay for child care.
Reopening the Government is Not a Fix-All Solution
In addition to harming people by delaying SNAP benefits, affordable access to Marketplace health insurance plans could end if Congress fails to renew the enhanced premium tax credits.
My oldest sister is not on SNAP, but she is a full-time caretaker for her joyful, creative, and disabled child. Her school district has already decided that her education is best supported by thoughts and prayers. Now her parents worry that her access to health care could be next if Congress fails to renew the enhanced premium tax credits.
“It’s not fair for me, because I feel like I don’t get a chance to be her mother.”
We deserve a chance to experience family the way that we are supposed to. Withholding food and health care is violent—it kills people’s access to safety and dignified loving experiences in their communities.
Senator Tuberville, I am not your enemy. My family is not your enemy. They do not have the power or means to send $8 billion to states. So they help.
They came together and got me new tires, so I can make my way to Montgomery in January and continue to improve food access for every Alabama family. However, that should not be perverted in order to excuse lawmakers from their responsibilities.
What Can You Do for Our Families?
In spite of the Supreme Court ruling, the USDA can and should fully fund SNAP for the month of November.
There is still time for members of Congress to be productive members of society.
Alabama needs solutions, not dogwhistles and political theater. Senator Tuberville can talk to the Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, and tell the USDA to release all available funds for SNAP.
