Leaders Should Feed Families, Not Starve Them
By: Congressman Bennie G. Thompson
U.S. House of Representatives, Mississippi’s Second District
“When will I receive my SNAP benefits?” This is the question many Mississippians are asking,
including a single mother in Mississippi who cares for her three children and elderly parent. Each
month, she counts on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to make sure they
are fed. Without these benefits, or even half, she faces hard choices: skip her own meals, cut
back on groceries, or stretch existing benefits while anxiously waiting for the answer from the
government.
Once again, the Trump Administration is playing political games with people’s lives. Instead of
providing stability and compassion, they are fueling unnecessary fear and confusion among
millions of Americans who depend on SNAP to feed their families.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has $5 billion in emergency funds ready to support
families across this country. Rather than ensuring that no family goes hungry, this Republican
administration has chosen to hold basic nutrition assistance hostage to politics. It took the courts
to step in because Trump and his allies made a deliberate decision to delay, disrupt, and deny
help to those who need it most. The money is there; what’s missing is the will to act.
As the longest Republican government shutdown in American history drags on, thousands of
families in Mississippi’s Second Congressional District and across the nation face growing
uncertainty about where their next meal will come from. SNAP is the nation’s largest food
security program, helping children, seniors, and people with disabilities stay healthy. In
Mississippi alone, over 350,000 people rely on it each month to feed their families.
This crisis didn’t happen overnight. In July 2025, President Trump signed H.R. 1 (the “Big Ugly
Bill”) into law, which included the largest cuts to SNAP in history, totaling nearly $200 billion
over the next decade. These cuts reduce benefit amounts, create new restrictions on who can
qualify, and shift more costs to states like Mississippi, which already struggles to provide enough
food and health care for families in need.
Mississippi has one of the highest rates of hunger in the country, with about one in six people
struggling to afford food. That’s why any delay in funding SNAP is serious. It means less food
on kitchen tables and less money flowing into our towns.
Governor Tate Reeves has the same pattern of rejecting programs that provide food and health
care to families in need. He opted out of the USDA’s Summer Nutrition (SUN) program in 2024
and 2025, denying children meals when school cafeterias are closed. He consistently opposes
Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which would provide health
coverage to about 200,000 Mississippians. Had Mississippi approved Medicaid expansion when
the ACA first made it available, the state would have collected nearly $15 billion in federal funds
to help our hospitals and communities. Reeves called it an “unwise expansion of Medicaid.”
When families lose access to health care, their ability to afford food, medicine, and other
essentials also comes under threat.
Governor Reeves has the power to help Mississippians and step up with a state plan to protect
families during this shutdown. Instead, he has no plan. He only wants to finger-point and spread
false information. In the richest country in the world, no family should ever have to go hungry.
Both the President and the Governor have the power to make sure families have food on their
kitchen table.
In Mississippi, we believe in looking out for one another. When one neighbor struggles, the rest
of us step up. That’s the kind of leadership our families deserve. I have been in Washington, D.C.
every week since the Republican government shutdown began on October 1, 2025. Meanwhile,
House Republicans have been missing in action.
As the only Democrat in Mississippi’s Congressional Delegation, I will continue to fight to
reopen the government and ensure families in Mississippi’s Second Congressional District are
protected. This is about dignity. This is about responsibility. And above all, this is about doing
what’s right.
