Take Action Now

SNAP (The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) is the primary federal food assistance program in the fight against poverty, hunger, and food insecurity. The federal government is the main provider of billions of SNAP dollars to the states. 

The program is now facing financial pressure as the lockdown continues, and the Republican administration and Congress withhold contingency funds to pressure Democrats. SNAP is a sacrificial lamb in the political game of chicken.

THE ISSUE

NC has already notified recipients that starting November 1, SNAP payments will pause due to the government shutdown and the Administration’s refusal to use its contingency funds - even for partial SNAP payments. This is happening in the wealthiest nation in the world.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

1. DONATE TO YOUR LOCAL FOOD BANK!

PLEASE do not wait to donate! See below for a list of Burke County Food Banks and Community Resources to donate to.

  • Blue Ridge Community Action, Inc. – 800 N Greet Street, Morganton, 828.438.6255 x226

  • Burke County United Way – 121 W Union Street, Morganton, 828.433.0681

  • Burke United Christian Ministries – 576 E Fleming Drive, Morganton, 828.433.8075

  • East Burke Christian Ministries – 103 3rd Avenue SE, Hildebran, 828.397.7074

  • Hildebran UMC – 110 S Center Street, Hildebran, 828.397.6939

  • Oak Ridge Baptist Church – 7449 Oak Ridge Church Road, Connelly Springs, 828.874.0891

  • Options Victims Assistance – 412 E Meeting Street, Morganton, 828.438.9444

  • Summit Community Church – 407 S Green Street, Morganton, 828.437.2761

  • The Bridge Fellowship – 110 S Center Street, Hildebran, 828.597.9165

  • The Outreach Center – 512 E Fleming Drive, Morganton, 282.439.8300

  • Valdese Community Center – 312 Massel Ave SE, Valdese, NC, 828.879.2132

Anything you do makes a BIG difference. These items are not just cans or boxes of food; they are actual meals that will feed hungry people in our community. Please help!

2. MAKE CALLS OVER THE NEXT WEEK

CALL U.S. Senators Ted Bud (828.350.2437/ 202.224.3154) & Thom Tillis (704.509.9087 / 202.224.6342) and U.S. Representative Tim Moore (202.225.5634)

  • Thank them for pressing the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, to release SNAP contingency funding – and ask them to keep doing so!

  • Implore them to keep applying loud public and political pressure on the Administration and to stand firm in the shutdown. Vote NO on a Continuing Budget Resolution if there are no Republican concessions.

  • Insist the Senators return to Washington and fight FOR the people of North Carolina. Urge them to work with Senate Democrats to keep funding for the ACA supplement and Medicaid, which so many North Carolinians rely on. 

CALL Governor Josh Stein (919.814.2000), NC State legislature Senate President Rachel Hunt (919.814.3680), and Assembly Speaker Destin Hall (919.733.3451)

  • Encourage them to press the Administration to release SNAP contingency funding.

  • And in the meantime, the state should take emergency measures and provide SNAP funding to ensure that recipients can continue to put food on their tables.

AFTER-HOURS PHONE MESSAGES ARE EFFECTIVE TOO!

HOW SNAP CUTS AFFECT NORTH CAROLINIANS: 

  • Over 1.4M North Carolinians receive SNAP, including 600,000+ children. Nearly 20% of Burke County’s residents are food insecure, and 1 in 4 children in Burke County face hunger.

  • Each person receives only $5.70 per day for buying food, making SNAP a low-cost program for helping North Carolina’s most vulnerable.

  • In the last 10 years, in North Carolina, this program has lifted an average of 238,000 people, including 101,000 kids, out of poverty each year. 

  • In North Carolina, more than 46% of all SNAP recipients are in working families. Nationally, an estimated 25% of active-duty military families cannot always afford food, with some relying on food assistance.

  • Households across North Carolina use SNAP, with more rural (20.2%) and small-town households (19%) using it more than households in our cities (13%).

  • Nationally, 94¢ cents of every $1 spent goes directly to one of over 9,300 stores in North Carolina, and every $1 of SNAP benefits spent generates over $1.50 in economic activity, meaning cuts to SNAP put $4.15 billion at risk in our state economy.

SNAP does more than help lift families out of poverty — it also supports North Carolinians who lose a job, face a natural disaster, or suffer from a disability. By helping people across North Carolina afford food, it improves student test scores, high school graduation rates, adult earnings, and health outcomes. This leads to fewer hospital and emergency room visits. The SNAP program strengthens North Carolina, and the proposed cuts will weaken our state or force us to raise taxes to keep its benefits.