CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) -In Virginia, hundreds of thousands of Virginia households receive SNAP benefits. When President Donald Trump put pen-to-paper on the Big Beautiful Bill, he passed along some of the funding burden for social programs to the state.
Charlottesville-area Delegate Amy Laufer said it created a ripple effect, impacting her work in the General Assembly and nonprofits.
“We know that a lot of these cuts are going to impact some folks that you know really needed this,” Laufer said. “On the state level, we’re going to absolutely try to maintain benefits at the standard.”
Laufer said many of her constituents need help from the government to keep food on the table. Now, Virginia’s lawmakers are left to decide whether to make up the difference from federal funding cuts.
“Almost a quarter of Albemarle County residents actually received some sort of benefit,” Laufer said. “The fiscal impact on the state is going to be significant and we are going to have to have some hard conversations about how we maintain these benefits for our most neediest families.”
It is a costly program, but one that Laufer, a Democrat, believes is essential.
“We’re going to have to get creative,” Laufer said.
Not just state-leaders, but food banks said they are left to pick up the pieces when people lose social benefits like SNAP. The increased demand in turn adds a greater strain on its supplies and funding and more need for community support.
“SNAP provides nine meals to every single meal the Feeding America Network and our partners and pantries provide,” said Les Sinclair with the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. “That means even a 10% cut in SNAP has the potential to double the demand on the food banking network.”
Sinclair said the pressure is worsened by the already all-time high demand food pantries across the country have been experiencing.
“When people are coming off of these benefits programs they will turn to the food banking network, and it will be important for us to provide for them to provide for them, and we intend to do that,” Sinclair said.
In order to do that Sinclair said, the food bank is turning to Congress for support. The Farm Bill is up for reauthorization in September, and Sinclair said, the Food Bank is doing more than just hoping it gets adequate funding; it is advocating.
“A good farm bill really helps support what we are trying to achieve which is making sure that everyone has enough food,” Sinclair said. “That includes programs like TFAP, the emergency food assistance program and senior food boxes.”
Laufer said she will be busy working on the state-level. As a member of the House Finance Committee, she will be meeting with the Senate Appropriations Committee in several weeks to make a plan for how to navigate these cuts.
No matter what solution the General Assembly comes to, Laufer said she is sympathetic to the challenges those working in social services face.
“They will be facing this new the changes that we’re going to be implementing in Medicaid and SNAP,” Laufer said. “I’m just grateful for all of their work.”
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