Congress is close to making historic cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
The budget cuts could reduce or eliminate the monthly grocery benefit for 3 million Floridians. More than a third of them are children, according to USDA data from 2024.
Taylour Grant, 29, is a single mother in Tampa raising four kids on one income. She said SNAP is the reason she can afford to put food on the table.
“When my SNAP was lowered or I didn’t have it, I’m taking money from bills to buy groceries, so bills are behind. It’s been a really big help for my family in all aspects,” she said.
She earns about $40,000 annually working as a medical assistant in Tampa, so she relies on about $900 a month that SNAP provides.
Stretching SNAP dollars in the summer
Today, she’s shopping at Winn-Dixie off of West Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Tampa.
It’s her first grocery trip of the summer. She starts in the produce section, where she investigates the chopped watermelon.
“I feel like they should be a little redder, but they’re still coming into season, so it’s OK,” she said.
They make it into the cart anyway because they’re on sale. Buy one, get one.
Every penny counts when the kids are out of school, Grant said.
Children who qualify for SNAP at home qualify for free- and reduced-meals at school. But during the summer months, Grant has to make her SNAP dollars go further.
“Since the kids are out of school, we’re gonna need more snacks, more juices, more water. So, I kind of have to budget to buy more of those,” she said.
More than half of all the parents in Florida struggle to afford nutritious food for their kids during the summer, according to a recent poll by No Kid Hungry. The survey results also show that Black and Hispanic households are hit the hardest, especially among women of color, with 63% of mothers reporting increased debt over the past year due to food costs alone.
“If they do cut [SNAP], that would be really detrimental to my family. ... I’m just kind of on the sidelines with everyone else watching and waiting.”Taylour Grant, single mother of four
There’s an optional federal food assistance program that’s designed to address this gap in food security. It’s called Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT), and it allows states to supplement household’s SNAP benefits during the summer.
But Florida has consistently opted out.
Grant said this decision makes her wary for what state lawmakers might do if given the chance to reduce or eliminate SNAP benefits altogether.
“With the state being in control, the state denied the Summer EBT already. So, I can only imagine what they’re gonna do for the normal EBT for families already depending on it,” she said.
Federal cuts and changes to SNAP
Congress has proposed cutting at least $200 billion from SNAP over 10 years.
In addition to funding cuts, the federal government wants to shift the cost burden of the program to states. Historically, states have paid part of the administrative cost to administer SNAP but have never paid for the grocery benefits.
In Florida, estimates show it would cost at least $1 billion a year for the state to keep the current rolls of SNAP recipients.
Ailen Arreaza, executive director of parent-led nonprofit ParentsTogether, said Grant’s concerns are valid.
“They are kicking it [SNAP funding] to the states, but they're cutting the funding, and so states are going to be having to make ... impossible decisions here, and it is absolutely reasonable for SNAP to cease to exist in a place like Florida,” she said.
Sky Beard, the Florida director of No Kid Hungry, said that the state entirely opting out of SNAP would be a worst-case scenario.
"So, we would hope that an alternative decision could be made if that came to [be] the case, and there are other things that states can consider in terms of determining eligibility and making some of those decisions, if need be," Beard said.
Rising grocery prices already eat into SNAP dollars
Grant makes it to the self-checkout line where she first scans her WIC card. That’s the federal Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. It covers items like milk, cheese, yogurt and bread for new moms and babies.
Then she scans her SNAP card.
Grant said using both programs helps her feed all of her children, who range from ages 1 to 14.
“Yeah, I’m literally swiping two to three cards every transaction to try to maximize what I’m getting. I’m not wasting anything,” Grant said.
She buys 14 items for just over $120. Her grocery benefits cover the whole bill on this day, but she said they aren't going as far as before.
“Some years ago, we could have got maybe twice that — maybe triple — for the price that we paid today,” she said.
If SNAP reductions are approved, on top of higher grocery prices, Grant says her family will have to get by with even less.
“If they do cut that, that would be really detrimental to my family. I try not to think of things that are going to depress me. So, yeah, I’m just kind of on the sidelines with everyone else watching and waiting.”
The House passed its version of the bill that includes historic cuts to SNAP. The Senate debated its version of the bill overnight Sunday into early Monday.
With pressure from President Donald Trump, Congress is working on a self-imposed July 4 deadline to pass the tax and spending package.
Gabriella Paul covers the stories of people living paycheck to paycheck in the greater Tampa Bay region for WUSF. She's also a Report for America corps member. Here’s how you can share your story with her
