JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Vanessa Lockett, a 73-year-old disabled retiree living on a fixed income in Jacksonville, is worried about losing her Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
She relies on the program to buy food, but the current federal government shutdown threatens to halt SNAP funding starting Nov. 1.
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“It is difficult. Yes. Am I worried? Yes,” Lockett said.
SNAP is federally funded and provides millions of Americans with monthly assistance to purchase groceries. But with the government shutdown ongoing, the program is expected to run out of money this Saturday, putting millions of people at risk of losing access to benefits.
Lockett receives about $82 per month in SNAP benefits, which breaks down to roughly $2 a day for food. As a diabetic, she needs to buy higher-quality protein rather than just carbohydrates, making her limited budget even more challenging.
“I now buy things like black-eyed peas because it’s a dry good and you can mix meats in it to go longer,” she explained.
Lockett lives in the Cathedral Terrace apartment building, home to many low-income seniors and people with disabilities. She says most of her neighbors also rely on food stamps to meet their nutritional needs.
“Most of the people in here have some kind of condition, so we often speak of our conditions and how the food is necessary for us,” she said.
State Democratic lawmakers in Florida have urged Governor Ron DeSantis to declare a state of emergency to protect nearly 3 million Floridians who could lose their SNAP benefits by the Nov. 1 deadline.
Meanwhile, Lockett blames both political parties for the shutdown and the resulting crisis, saying she feels like she’s been caught in the middle of a war between the two sides.
“And I’m not sure how many people can survive the war. The war is called, ‘No Food,’” she said.
Across the country, some states are stepping in with state-funded programs or additional support for food banks to help those affected by the SNAP funding gap.
As the Nov. 1 deadline approaches, vulnerable seniors like Lockett face an uncertain future, hoping for a resolution that will allow them to keep access to the food they need