Nearly 1 in 5 in Guilford County rely on food stamps. Local food banks urge the community to speak out as a proposed bill threatens major SNAP cuts.
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Some of the most trusted nonprofits in the Triad are urging supporters to speak up against President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
Second Harvest Food Bank and the Helping Hands Food Pantry said they are worried about proposed cuts to federal SNAP food benefits.
Second Harvest sent an email to donors, asking them to call Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd to help stop potential SNAP cuts. The letter reads in part:
“We rarely ask everyone connected to Second Harvest to raise their voices regarding governmental policy, but we are doing so now,” said Eric Aft, CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina. “The threat to the well-being of our region’s families, local economies, and farmers is just too great.”
And they aren’t the only ones concerned.
“It’s not like they have an abundance of food already, and that we’re gonna start cutting things back that they’ve been dependent on just to make just to have some food in their house to be able to feed their family,” said Steve Key, Helping Hands High Point Inc. Executive Director.
Nearly one in five people in Guilford County rely on SNAP benefits to put food on the table, according to the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank. But the “One Big Beautiful Bill” could slash that support, cutting nearly $300 billion in federal funding and shifting the cost to states, with no guarantee that states like North Carolina will be able to cover the gap.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said when states pay more, they are more likely to crack down on fraud in the program.
“What we’re doing is strengthening Medicaid and SNAP so that they can exist, so that they’ll be there for the people that desperately need it the most, and it’s not being taken advantage of. And this is something that everybody in Congress, Republicans and Democrats, should agree to.”
However, Key said families could go hungry if those cuts happen.
“If you lose, you know, $100 in in benefits or whatever that amount might be, then that’s gonna impact them and they’re not gonna have that food that they’ve had in the past.”
He said inflation has driven demand at his pantry to skyrocket, tripling in just three years. And Key said the families coming to him aren’t abusing the system—they truly need the help.
“It’s not that they’re not trying or not working or not trying to make the things work in their lives, but that it’s just difficult for them to make everything meet.”
The Senate is expected to continue debate on the “One Big Beautiful Bill” this week. The vote is expected to be close, and even one senator could make the difference.
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