‘Fund SNAP, not ICE’: Philadelphians call for expanded, continued SNAP benefits

Activists and protesters gathered at 58th and Market streets in West Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon, demanding the restoration and expansion of SNAP benefits, which help nearly one-third of the city’s residents pay for groceries.

On Friday, two federal judges ruled that the Trump administration must use contingency funds to continue payments for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, amid the U.S. government shutdown.

It’s unclear how quickly the funding, which was set to dry up Saturday for the first time in the program’s more than 60-year history, will be available to recipients. The process to load debit cards used for the funding generally takes one to two weeks, meaning even after the judges’ rulings, this month’s funds are delayed.

“We welcome this news, even though the Trump administration will drag their feet in actually getting benefits restored, and millions of people are still going to have to wait an undetermined amount of time before they get their benefits restored,” Brian Mazelis, a member of The Party for Socialism and Liberation, which organized the rally, told the crowd.

President Donald Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Friday that he “instructed our lawyers to ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible.” He blamed the Democrats for the SNAP delay and the government shutdown.

Attendees chanted, “Fund SNAP, not ICE,” referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and “Billionaires make more and more, we’re fired up, can’t take it no more.”

Center City resident Kenya Greaves, 30, said she has been putting together resources for people impacted by SNAP delays or cuts.

“It’s something that a lot of people I know are using, and that was really important to them, and that was supporting them and sustaining them throughout this time,” Greaves said.

Joel Northam, 38, a North Philadelphia resident and one of the rally’s organizers, said the shutdown and its impacts are “unacceptable.”

“The fact that we even have to be out here again, fighting for people, 42 million people, to have access to food in the richest country on Earth, is despicable,” he told WHYY News.

The SNAP program helps roughly 30% of Philadelphians afford food each month. Statewide, approximately 2 million Pennsylvanians are at risk of going hungry if funding is halted or delayed.

On Friday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro declared a disaster emergency ahead of Saturday’s lapse of SNAP benefits deadline, allocating $5 million to the nonprofit Feeding Pennsylvania for the distribution of groceries at food banks throughout the state.

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker announced Saturday that her administration is allocating $14 million to a “One Philly SNAP Support Plan.”

Nonprofits, local governments, schools and mutual aid networks have also stepped up to fill the gap for people and families.

Northam said mutual aid is important, but it’s not enough to make sure people are able to continue to eat.

“It’s great that people, regular working-class people, are trying to step into the breach and offset some of the effects of this looming hunger crisis that we’re about to experience,” he said. “But one, it’s wholly insufficient to really match the real need that people have. And also, we shouldn’t have to do this. We should have a government that actually cares about people.”

A federal judge in Massachusetts sided with a lawsuit filed by 25 Democratic-led states and Washington, D.C., calling for emergency funds to be tapped to continue SNAP funding. Judge Indira Talwani said the suspension of benefits proposed by the Trump administration was “unlawful.”

A second federal judge in Rhode Island who heard a challenge by a group of nonprofits and local governments ruled that emergency funds should be used to continue SNAP, and previous work requirement waivers for groups of people, including older adults and veterans, should be honored.

Both judges said the government could either partially or fully fund SNAP this month.

Danielle Hurtado, 28, a West Philly resident, and a member of The Party for Socialism and Liberation, said the United States is not resource starved.

“We, in fact, as a country, have the money to fund SNAP,” she said. “We actually have the money to do more and protect people more, and the Trump administration is lying when they say that they can’t do it.”

Mazelis told WHYY News he wants people to know that the cuts will impact everyone.

“Whether or not you’re on SNAP, this is going to affect all working people,” he said. “The grocery stores are going to be raising their prices. Demand is going up, and it’s going to get to a point where, no matter which way you try to turn, you’re going to be affected by these attacks, and so that’s why we’re out here today.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.