19-07-2025
Republicans slashed food aid. Grocers in small towns and rural areas are taking the hit.
Between 60 percent and 80 percent of Buche's customers rely on SNAP, accounting for nearly half of his revenue. Buche said he's weighing layoffs in order to keep his doors open.
Republican lawmakers, many of whom represent districts with substantial numbers of food aid recipients, defended their megabill, saying the cuts will ultimately help low-income families and their local communities.
'Grocers are good people, hard-working families, and they only make a 1 to 2 percent margin,' said House Agriculture Chair G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.), a top negotiator in the plan to slash SNAP. 'A significant number of people who currently are on SNAP through unemployment will now be climbing a ladder of opportunity, which [means] they'll be able to have more resources to buy more food. So our grocers are going to do well with this.'
Thompson said grocers have been 'the victim of fear mongering by the Democrats' and the benefits restrictions will be a boon to their industry.
Democrats like Rep. Shontel Brown (D-Ohio) disagree and are exploring ways to mitigate the SNAP cuts through upcoming legislation and negotiations.
'We'll use every tool at our disposal,' said Brown, deputy ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee. 'I know there's been some conversation around a skinny farm bill, and I don't know, candidly, what that will look like. But if there's any opportunity to reverse course or to supplement funds, I will certainly do that.'
Several Republican and Democratic state officials have already warned that it will be difficult to backfill the loss of federal dollars. They will need to consider redirecting funds from existing programs, cutting benefits, raising taxes or finding some alternative method to protect their budgets.
'I don't think any state is going to cut [SNAP benefits],' Thompson said. 'If they do, the governors and state legislators that do the cuts are not going to be governors and state legislators for very long.'
Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) said that his state is bracing for 'tens of thousands of people' losing access to SNAP.
'The key here is that if we keep enough folks buying at local rural grocery stores, those local rural grocery stores have a higher chance to survive,' Vasquez said. 'We have to make sure folks either have money in their pocket and that states can make up the shortfall in SNAP cuts to preserve that access, or for other folks, provide alternate means to be able to feed them.'
