Michiganders say Trump’s cuts to food assistance could leave their families hungry

Michiganders are speaking out against Republican-led cuts to federal food assistance programs, warning the changes would leave thousands of families without enough to eat.

LANSING—Federal legislation backed by President Donald Trump and approved by the Republican-led US House would slash federal funding for food assistance programs and impose new work requirements that would strip grocery money from thousands of Michigan families.

That was the warning echoed during a two-hour legislative committee hearing on Tuesday, where state lawmakers warned that Trump’s proposed federal cuts would force Michigan families deeper into poverty, leave more kids hungry, and overwhelm food banks statewide.

Among those who testified: Melissa Miles, a single mom and full-time university student in Hillsdale County who said she struggles to afford groceries for her and her 4-year-old son.

“The American dream is just surviving,” she told lawmakers. “ We are trying to navigate out of survival and into security, but this navigation pathway is only possible because of programs like SNAP to supplement our income. SNAP benefits provide nourishment to our children.”

What’s at stake?

About 1.5 million Michiganders rely on SNAP to afford groceries, with each of them receiving about $188 in monthly benefits, according to state estimates. Those recipients include more than 500,000 kids, as well as tens of thousands of seniors and people with disabilities. Their benefits—which totaled $3.2 billion in 2024—are fully covered by the federal government.

The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” a sweeping budget plan passed by the US House with support from every Republican in Michigan’s congressional delegation, would enact new work requirements and slash about $300 billion from SNAP over the next decade—largely to make room for steep tax cuts for billion-dollar corporations and the wealthiest families in America.

Specifically, the legislation would make it harder for recipients to qualify for food assistance benefits by adding new, part-time work requirements for seniors between the ages of 55 and 64, as well as for parents of children who are between the ages of 7 and 18. Only parents with kids under age 7 and seniors 65 and older would be exempt from the steeper work requirements.

Early estimates show that more than 270,000 Michiganders would lose their SNAP benefits under the Republican-led plan. The legislation would also force states to share the cost for SNAP, which could cost Michigan nearly $900 million per year, according to state estimates.

Nationwide, about 3.2 million Americans stand to lose benefits as a result of the bill’s new work requirements, with another 1.3 million potentially dropped if states can’t make up the difference.

‘Asking and praying’

Miles, whose son is immunocompromised and needs access to healthy food to survive, said she can’t bear to think about “how much sicker my child would be” without federal food assistance.

“I’m asking you to think of all the Michigan families like my own, that are fighting to find security without having to fear where their next meal will come from,” Miles testified at this week’s committee hearing. “Please protect SNAP for the health and the economic security of our state.”

Her story wasn’t the only one lawmakers heard from Michiganders living on the edge.

Kathleen Hurd, a grandmother from Detroit who relies on SNAP benefits to help raise her teenage grandchildren, receives about $390 a month in food assistance benefits. She told lawmakers about how SNAP has allowed her to make ends meet on a tight, fixed income.

“Trying to make ends meet from month to month is difficult, and if [SNAP benefits] are cut, it’ll be extremely difficult,” Hurd testified this week. “I’m asking and praying that my benefits are not cut. Children who are growing into adulthood and shouldn’t be bothered with those things.”

Doctors also testified before the state Senate committee on this issue this week, describing how hunger can often masquerade as an underlying behavioral or academic issue in children.

Dr. Pat Wells, a pediatrician and medical director at Corner Health Center in Ypsilanti, shared the story of one of her patients—Kayla—who came in with a suspected ADHD diagnosis. But the real problem, they learned after Kayla was able to access SNAP benefits, was hunger.

“Over time, we really saw very incremental, but very real change,” she said. “With SNAP, they could afford access to those fresh fruits, vegetables, and protein. … Her energy and her focus improved. What she needed was nutritional support, food, and food security.”

Dr. Wells added: “This is what we mean when we say nutrition is health care. Healthy food is medicine in all of your communities. SNAP doesn’t just fill bellies. It restores capacity.”

Ashley Anderson, a director at Corner Health Center, shared similar concerns—recalling a patient who couldn’t afford groceries even while working full time, and another young mother who lost her SNAP benefits and spiraled into homelessness and an abusive relationship.

“SNAP is the most effective tool that we currently have against food insecurity,” Anderson testified. “It reduces hospitalizations, supports children’s development, and protects health. … Cutting SNAP is going to affect more than just how much food you can buy.”

‘A lifeline for Michigan’

Others warned lawmakers that the fallout of the Republican-led budget cuts wouldn’t stop with individual families, but could also destabilize nonprofits, grocers, and the broader economy.

Courtney Morrow, who works with refugee families at United Community Family Services, said with SNAP cuts, grocers would see fewer customers, nonprofits would lose donations, and the entire support network to support Michigan’s hungriest families would begin to unravel.

“SNAP is crucial to the entire economy, including the sustainability of the nonprofits who will have to pick up the slack if eligibility requirements become more complex,” Morrow testified. “These same nonprofits will carry the burden of helping clients navigate this red tape.”

She urged lawmakers to “ advocate for a federal budget that protects access to these programs for refugees and asylum seekers and everyone else who uses them as a hand up.”

“ To some, it is a number and a budget to be toggled,” Morrow added. “But in reality, for many people, these cuts will take food out of the mouths of people who need it most.”

Farmers could also be hit hard by the proposed cuts.

Amanda Shreve, executive director of the Michigan Farmers Market Association, testified that farmers markets in the vast majority of Michigan counties currently accept SNAP—helping connect an estimated 2,500 farmers and small business owners with local customers.

Slashing funding for the program could take a major dent out of their sales, she warned.

“ When Michigan residents use food assistance programs, they’re not only feeding themselves and their families, but they’re also feeding our local economy, fueling our agricultural sector, supporting farmers, and protecting farmland,” Shreve testified at this week’s committee hearing.

The Republican-led plans to gut SNAP funding still need to pass in the US Senate, where Democratic lawmakers are already trying to block its most consequential provisions.

“SNAP and other federally funded food programs provide a lifeline for Michigan residents across the state,” state Sen. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor) said in a statement. “We know it by the numbers, but it’s made abundantly clearer from the stories of those who’ve depended on these resources to make ends meet, like the ones we heard from those who courageously testified this week.”

READ MORE: Michigan moms, doctors beg Republicans not to gut Medicaid

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