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Threatened loss of SNAP benefits weighs heavily on recipients

Jeff Himler
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Shane Dunlap | TribLive
Amy Smidga, 56, with her cat, Jesse James, says she receives $265 per month in SNAP benefits. The West Newton resident says she relies on SNAP to buy diabetic-friendly food.
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Massoud Hossaini | TribLive
Jennifer Grundy, 35, and her husband Dylan Bartsch, 33, gather around the dinner table with their children (from left) Ezekiel Grundy, 6; Quentin Grundy, 8; Brexton Bartsch, 5; Owen Bartsch, 6, Olivia Grundy, 12; and Amelia Grundy, 9; at their home in Mt. Pleasant on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.

Amy Smidga says if she doesn’t receive her monthly SNAP benefit for purchasing food in November, it could sabotage her efforts to control her diabetes.

“I get SNAP of $265,” she said. “It’s going to hurt me because it does help with what I need. Without the SNAP benefit, it’s going to be a struggle for me.”

The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services announced that, as of Oct. 16, SNAP — short for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — payments won’t be made to recipients until the federal government shutdown ends and related funds are released to the state.

Rob Hamilton, Westmoreland County director of human services, said the loss of SNAP will hit home with many of the roughly 25,000 people his department interacts with each year.

“A good portion of those probably receive SNAP,” he said. “It’s going to have a profound effect on them not being able to receive those benefits.”

Smidga, 56, of West Newton is single, disabled, on a fixed income and insulin-dependent. She said she obtains some staple items from a local monthly food pantry but relies on her SNAP payment to buy diabetic-friendly food.

“You’ve got to eat a balanced meal with insulin — three meals a day,” she said. “Canned fruits are high in sugar intake.”

Smidga had expected her next SNAP payment to arrive in mid-November. The prospect of doing without that benefit leaves her wondering.

“What can I take away from my Social Security (payment) to put food on my table? That covers my rent and phone and electric bill and my basic needs,” she said. “Sometimes I do throw in something food-wise to tide me over until my (SNAP) food stamps come in.”

Smidga said many of the neighbors in her high-rise apartment building also receive SNAP benefits.

Christine Henn, 53, of Arnold has received SNAP benefits off and on for the past 10 years. She said the thought of losing them next month is “actually horrible.”

Henn said she depends on SNAP funds to feed herself and her two special-needs children since she is disabled and unable to work full time.

“I’m not doing well with them (SNAP benefits), and now without them there’s not much anyone can do,” Henn said.

Henn said she’s looking into part-time jobs to try to replace the SNAP benefit.

She said the SNAP cuts will bring “hardship to mothers, children and the elderly.”

Households rely on benefits

Jennifer Miller, CEO of the Westmoreland Food Bank, said the loss of SNAP benefits in November would have a negative impact on a large portion of the 15,000 households it serves each month. According to Miller, 90% or more of those households rely on SNAP.

She said even more county residents are expected to face food insecurity and turn to the food bank’s network of 40 local pantries if SNAP payments dry up. That comes at a time when the organization’s resources also are strained because of Pennsylvania’s budget impasse.

“To have our state budget and our federal budget be at impasses at the same time is like the perfect storm,” she said. “I have been working with food banks for 27 years and I’ve never experienced anything like this, where the people who need us the most have been cast aside.

“This is a nonpartisan issue. Our legislators need to be coming together to figure this out.”

Miller said the food bank has ordered food, including Thanksgiving turkeys, for those who are signed up to receive distributions at local pantries in November.

But with about 45,500 county households receiving SNAP benefits, she said, 30,000 of those could be turning to the food bank for help in the coming month — on top of those it already serves.

The food bank receives donated items for distribution but also purchases food for its pantries. Because of the budget impasse, Miller said, the state is behind in providing the food bank quarterly funding of about $200,000.

“That would have started us purchasing food for the next two months,” she said. “We’re going to do all we can to make sure everyone is fed.

But she added, “What is being asked of the food security network is almost impossible. … For every one meal we are able to provide, SNAP provides nine.”

The impact of suspended SNAP payments will be felt regionally, as the benefits are received by more than 160,000 in Allegheny County and about 15,500 in Butler County, according to state program figures.

SNAP beneficiaries can continue to use remaining amounts they’ve already received, which are good for one year from the date they’re issued.

The Pittsburgh Food Policy Council noted in a press release that SNAP normally provides more than $366 million each month to Pennsylvania recipients.

It said the pending November pause on benefits is “a direct threat to food access, health and stability for families across Pennsylvania. … And while benefits may be retroactive once reinstated, families cannot wait weeks without food.”

Meeting nutrition needs

Loss of a SNAP payment of $800 will put a sizeable dent in the monthly food budget of Jennifer Grundy’s large family.

With prices rising at the grocery store, the 35-year-old Mt. Pleasant Township resident said she’s been cutting corners and getting creative in the kitchen to keep food on the table for herself, her husband and their blended family of seven kids ranging in age from 8 months to 12 years.

She said the SNAP payment is a critical supplement to the money she and her husband earn and benefits from the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program that help with nutrition for her youngest child.

“I’ve always worked and made sure I had an income,” said Grundy, who makes and sells baked goods. “It just never seems to be enough, with bills and car payments and diapers. You always seem to need government help.”

If the SNAP benefit goes away, she said, the family may be forced to seek help from a food pantry while turning to cheaper, less nutritious meal items.

Fresh meat is one category of food they may have to cut back on.

“We don’t have it as rough as some other people do,” Grundy said. “I have to be thankful that, at the moment, it’s not super dire. But I can see it getting there, which is scary.”

Richard Queen Jr., 56, of New Kensington said he recently applied for SNAP benefits and was accepted to the program after a series of misfortunes. He recently went through a divorce and was injured to the point of needing surgery.

Since he wasn’t able to work, he turned to the state program for help.

He said the most vulnerable parties have been hit the hardest during the federal shutdown. Queen said he no longer feels confident in the government’s ability to serve the people well.

“It’s amazing how the senators that are able to shut down the country are still getting paid, no matter what, and the poor and the needy are in even worse shape because of (the shutdown),” Queen said.

He said he knows he’ll make it through and called himself fortunate. He said he doesn’t have children and he has family members he can lean on.

President Dawn Pomaybo said WIN-Spirations, a Greensburg nonprofit that helps to remove employment barriers for 100 or more clients each month, is preparing for an expected SNAP-related rise in food insecurity. It is seeking extra donations for an emergency community pantry it runs in partnership with the county food bank.

“We typically have 200 to 400 pounds of food, but the need is significantly increasing,” she said. So far, Pomaybo said, the organization’s plea has prompted small financial donations and “a couple of boxes of food.”

She said donations will be accepted on an ongoing basis, with the hope the amount of monetary or nonperishable food contributions will increase.

“I don’t think people are recognizing the severity yet of what’s going to happen,” she said, “especially those who aren’t dealing with SNAP.

“It’s going to be a very hard couple of months coming up.”

Anyone who needs immediate food assistance should call 211 or visit www.feedingpa.org or pa-navigate.org, officials said.

Staff writer Haley Daugherty contributed to this story.

Jeff Himler is a TribLive reporter covering Greater Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Mt. Pleasant Area and Derry Area school districts and their communities. He also reports on transportation issues. A journalist for more than three decades, he enjoys delving into local history. He can be reached at jhimler@triblive.com.

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