In June, Come to the Table partnered with Dr. Sarah Bowen and Dr. Annie Hardison-Moody of N.C. State University to host a workshop on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), its history, and how communities can respond in light of recent cuts of the program.
The RAFI team led participants through a timeline of the last year as it relates to SNAP. Since October 2025, the food assistance space has taken blow after blow from significant changes and cuts to federal policy. Important programs like Local Food Assistance Program, SNAP-Ed, and the Food Security Report were canceled. SNAP was slashed by $186 billion over the next ten years, went unpaid during the government shutdown, and underwent other drastic modifications.
CTTT Program Director Justine Post highlighted two notable modifications: changes to work requirements and the administrative and error rate cost shift. Both are feared to reduce SNAP participation drastically and further strain the program’s financial feasibility.
Hardison-Moody detailed her research at NC State before addressing problematic myths surrounding SNAP:
- People on SNAP are lazy and don’t work.
- SNAP benefits are abused and used for “luxury” foods.
- Other people deserve it more.
- Undocumented people are eligible for SNAP.
After tackling these myths, Hardison-Moody presented core values that sit at the core of food justice, that can be drawn on for narrative change: food should be shared, universal, abundant, and easy to access; the poor should come first, not last; and we should prioritize trust over judgment. Then, in small groups, participants selected one value to focus on that is central to their work.
A highlight of the day was a Q&A conversation between Hardison-Moody and Jackie Sugg. Sugg shared about her role with the Farmville Food Hub, where she worked with community leaders to conduct work that was driven by the needs of the community, rather than any pre-packaged solutions. One outcome of her time with Farmville was a series of StoryWalk signs that featured “I Am” poems.
The work to fund and prioritize SNAP is ongoing and will certainly be a major talking point over the next few months. The workshop concluded with opportunities of ways to take action that we hope you will consider too:
