Originally published in the Daily Courier
Tom Charley is owner of the Charley Family Shop N’ Save and Jennifer Miller is the CEO of Westmoreland Food Bank.
Providing our neighbors with access to fresh, affordable food is our mission.
Whether it’s from the grocery store or a local food bank, all Pennsylvanians deserve to have food on their table. However, Congress is currently considering proposals for significant changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that would make it harder for kids, seniors, and individuals with disabilities in Westmoreland County to access the food they need to survive and thrive.
SNAP is the nation’s first line of defense against hunger. When individuals and families fall on tough times or can’t stretch their paychecks to make ends meet, SNAP can help supplement their monthly food budget. The benefits are modest—averaging $6 per day — but they are an important lifeline for 46,950 individuals in Westmoreland County.
Locally, Westmoreland Food Bank serves 5.8 million meals every year, with demand rising by more than 40% in the past two years. For every meal a food bank provides, SNAP provides nine—underscoring how essential this program is to keeping families fed.
While food banks play a vital role in emergency food assistance, they operate with limited resources, relying heavily on donations, volunteers, and inconsistent food supply. They are not equipped to absorb the massive demand that would result from reduced access to federal nutrition programs. Food banks cannot replace the scale, reach, and stability of SNAP.
SNAP’s economic impact is significant. Every $1 of SNAP that is spent generates $1.54 of economic activity. Last year, over 10,000 retailers in Pennsylvania redeemed over $5 billion in food benefits. This helps support thousands of jobs throughout the food chain, from farmers who grow the food to truck drivers delivering it to warehouses, and retail cashiers.
This positive impact is reflected every day across the operations of food retailers like Charley Family Shop N’ Save, which has three locations in Greensburg and Murrysville.
From SNAP recipients buying items like ground beef, milk, and poultry – among the highest selling categories for both SNAP and non-SNAP customers – to the level of orders placed with wholesale and distribution partners on the strength of that additional demand. It bears repeating, and with emphasis: SNAP is not just assistance for families in need, it is a win for small businesses like Charley Family Shop N’ Save, others along the food supply chain, and the communities they call home.
Recent proposals in Congress to drastically change and limit access to SNAP are dire.
Like those in any other sector, government programs can and should continually be improved and streamlined to deliver results more effectively and efficiently. However, the changes being contemplated could leave thousands of Pennsylvanians behind, without access to the food they need to live healthy, productive lives, and will negatively impact our local economies.
Shifting the cost of SNAP benefits is an unfunded mandate that will hurt Pennsylvania families. Pennsylvania’s budget is already stretched thin with legislators in Harrisburg currently debating how to fund essential public services like transit and education.
SNAP Op-Ed: By shifting some of the cost of SNAP to the state, PA will be forced to make tough decisions about what programs to keep or cut, with Medicaid, SNAP, LIHEAP, and others all potentially on the chopping block.
Additionally, new work requirements, while well-intentioned, will create additional bureaucratic red tape without addressing labor shortages. Research consistently shows that work requirements do not increase employment. Instead, we should create new opportunities for childcare and job training, both of which have been proven to help people re-enter the workforce.
In Pennsylvania, 78% of SNAP households are working families, 41% are families with children, and 52% include someone with a disability. SNAP is not a ‘hand-out’; it is a critical support that helps neighbors in need put food on the table.
These proposals will be devastating to food-insecure children, seniors, and veterans as well as food retailers across Pennsylvania. We strongly encourage members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation to reject this harmful bill. ■
