East Texas Food Bank responds to possible SNAP cuts

TYLER — The East Texas Food Bank released their 2025 Map the Meal Gap numbers showing that one in five adults in the East Texas area do not have enough food to eat. According to our news partner KETK, this amounts to nearly 44.6 million meals, an increase from last year’s close to 41 million meals. Many families who depend on the food bank yearly also rely on their SNAP benefits to fill their pantries.

“Snap benefits stretch much, much further than the meals that you get,” East Texas Food Bank Chief Impact Officer Kim Morris said.

Recently, the U.S. House Agriculture Committee voted on its portion of a bill that includes $230 billion in spending cuts. One of those proposals would make cuts to SNAP benefits, and changes to qualification requirements. Something U.S. Congressman Nathaniel Moran from East Texas supports.

“We’ve got able-bodied people that are not working, not trying to get off of government subsistence, but could do so if incentivized to do so,” Rep. Nathaniel Moran said.

The bill would increase age requirements for “able-bodied adults” without children and close some loopholes for work requirement waivers.

“Require each state to pay anywhere from 5 to 25% of the food benefits, so currently, the federal government is paying 100% of its food benefits,” Emerson said.

He said the administration cost would also increase from 50% to 75%.”That is an additional $87 million per year based on last year’s numbers that Texas would have to pick up,” Emerson said. Congressman Moran believes these changes to SNAP would be beneficial for Americans overall. “If we don’t do anything this year, the average American $100,000 for individuals and their family, they’re going to have a tax bill of close to $670,000 next year,” Rep. Moran said.

Adding the average family’s tax bill could shrink to $300,000, but the East Texas Food Bank believes the need for assistance will go up, causing a shift in how they operate.

“We may have to feed them differently, and we may have to feed them without some of the federal support that we’ve had in the past, right, but we will continue to be here and provide for that, and we will rely more heavily on the generosity of the communities to make that happen,” Emerson said.

The food bank is urging Congress to “ensure no one is forced to choose between food and other basic needs”.