A coalition of faith-based nonprofits, small businesses and local governments filed suit Oct. 30 to challenge President Donald Trump’s refusal to continue food stamp funding during the government shutdown.
The action filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island comes on the heels of another lawsuit filed by 25 states seeking to force the continuation of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for its 42 million recipients.
Skye Perryman
“The administration’s callous disregard for the needs of people, including children and senior citizens, is unlawful and immoral. Turning hunger into a political weapon is not governing — it’s cruelty,” said Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward, which is representing plaintiffs in the latest suit along with the Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island.
“Instead of using its power to ensure that families can continue to put food on their tables, the Trump-Vance administration is using its power to divide, distract and deflect responsibility for its own failures to keep the government funded.”
Stating that “the well has run dry,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture blamed congressional Democrats and the U.S. Senate for failing to adopt a provisional spending approved by the House.
The suspension, slated to go into effect Nov. 1, would be prevented if the USDA were to tap into a $6 billion contingency fund as it already has done to maintain the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, or WIC, throughout the federal shutdown.
But groups like the Rhode Island State Council of Churches, the National Council of Nonprofits, the Mainstreet Alliance and eight U.S. cities including Albuquerque, Baltimore and Columbus sued to force the continuation of the program. The lawsuit also challenges the administration’s sudden termination of waivers that protect job seekers and part-time employees from losing benefits in areas with fewer jobs.
The litigation contends the decision to terminate SNAP benefits violates U.S. law and the Administrative Procedures Act.
Jeremy Langill
The move also undermines the principle of compassion people of faith hold dear, said Jeremy Langill, executive minister of the Rhode Island State Council of Churches.
“Providing and caring for the most vulnerable is an essential feature of faith. Our work flows as a response to God’s extravagant love for us, a love that moves us from the house of fear and into the house of love,” Langill said.
“To remove access to SNAP benefits for our most vulnerable community members creates yet another level of crisis for households who are already struggling,” said Eileen Hayes, president of Amos House, the largest soup kitchen in Rhode Island. “As soup kitchens and food banks expand to absorb these additional needs, the social sector is committed to working together to ensure that our neighbors in need do not go hungry.”
Diane Yentel
The shutdown of SNAP also would “push local nonprofit food banks, food pantries and other organizations beyond the breaking point,” said Diane Yentel, president of the National Council of Nonprofits.
“Nonprofits are already doing everything they can to feed families and care for their communities amidst increasing need and diminishing resources, but they cannot replace federal nutrition programs, nor can they meet the tsunami of need that would result without SNAP benefits.”
Richard Trent, executive director of Main Street Alliance, said SNAP is key component of local economies across the country.
“When SNAP payments stop, it hurts more than working families — it hits the small grocers, farmers market vendors and retailers who serve them every day,” he said. “The Trump administration’s refusal to use contingency funds doesn’t just threaten food security — it undermines Main Street and rural communities alike, including the farmers who grow the food SNAP pays for.”