How Will New Work Requirements for SNAP Benefits Affect Food Insecurity, Employment?
Graphic Journalist Nhatt Nichols takes us to West Virginia to explore the outlook for people facing food insecurity and the communities they call home.
As policymakers in DC have continued to negotiate compromises to fund the federal government—and craft a new Farm Bill—there has been no shortage of political wrangling over the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), often referred to as “food stamps.” For example, in mid 2023 an agreement to raise the federal debt ceiling included a provision to tighten eligibility requirements for some SNAP users. This change took effect at the same time that a temporary expansion of SNAP benefits, introduced in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, also came to end.
Graphic Journalist Nhatt Nichols takes us to West Virginia, where comparable changes to the SNAP program were made back in 2018, to explore the outlook for people facing food insecurity and the communities they call home.
![Comic panel shows a speech bubble with a quote from the report that reads: “Our best data does not indicate that the program has had a significant impact on employment figures for the (ABAWD) population in the nine counties [that were part of the study] ... Health and Human Resources made approximately 13,984 referrals to SNAP in 2016, and of those only 259 gained employment.”](png/dy_snapwv1_panel17-1296x991.png)
![Comic panel shows Cynthia Kirkhart with quote that reads: “This year is the first year that Congresswoman [Carol] Miller's office and Senator [Joe] Manchin's office reached out to me with immediacy about our thoughts about the Farm Bill. Usually, we're the ones knocking on the doors first, you know, emailing and calling. And they were very responsive, to be the first one to do that outreach.”](png/dy_snapwv1_panel34-1235x1296.png)
This article first appeared on The Daily Yonder and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Thank you for this informative communication. About ten years ago, I commuted to a rural county from my home about 50 minutes away. I worked as a communiity mental health counseleor. More recently I worked in a rural county closer to my home with substance use clients in rehab, mostl women, some with children. The problems noted here were not different with regard to the lack of community and personal resources for independent living in many rural areas. From that point of view, I’d like to add that rural areas lack employment opportunities from the git-go. It’s one reason for… Read more »