Gov. Matt Meyer joined a team of 23 other governors Tuesday in support of preserving the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The governors’ letter said recent U.S. House and Senate proposals could gut SNAP benefits, affecting the 42 million people across the country who rely on them.
More than two-thirds of Delaware’s SNAP participants are in families with children, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Meyer joined several governors and U.S. Senators including Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester this week raising the alarm about the issue. He said the 37 thousand Delawareans who rely on SNAP face an uncertain future.
“The fact is in our state government, we simply cannot shoulder the extra $50 to 80 million burden over the next decade without sacrificing serious investments in education, in health care and public safety,” Meyer said. “That's the harsh reality these cuts actually mean to us in Delaware every day.”
Blunt Rochester referred to the Trump administration's “big, beautiful bill” as a “big, bad betrayal” and said Delawarean health is in jeopardy.
“I know that many of the folks that are on SNAP are already working, and so cutting this incredibly essential program will drive countless families into hunger and put even more strain on our food banks, potentially closing grocery stores, particularly in our rural areas, and really at a time when many of our food banks and folks that provide these resources are already facing stark federal funding cuts at the hands of this administration,” Blunt Rochester said.
Federal cuts have already affected access to food assistance in the First State, including the cancellation of 19 deliveries from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the Food Bank of Delaware. That equates to 900 thousand meals.
In a state where 11.3 percent of households are food insecure, Meyer said Delawareans face a looming crisis to take care of their neighbors.
“Food Banks, their financial support is being cut off, and now you're saying SNAP is going away?” Meyer said. “I can't say I know where we're going to turn. We're Delawareans. We'll come together. We'll do our best to figure it out.”
Meyer said state government invested a small amount of money to fill that hole, but Delaware – and every other state – needs more.
“I'm doing everything I can, like a lot of other governors,” Meyer said. “I think [we’re] eager to collaborate however we can with federal administration that I disagree with on a lot of things, but collaborate however we can to deliver for Delawareans.”
SNAP benefits lifted 20 thousand people above the poverty line in Delaware, including 9 thousand children, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
