Cost of WA groceries could rise as SNAP benefits end

Looming SNAP benefit expiration threatens Washington families

Food banks and unions are sounding the alarm as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are set to expire this Friday, with experts warning the lapse will impact the state economy and thousands of families.

SEATTLE, Wash. - Families across Washington are facing a tough reality this week as SNAP benefits are set to end this Friday. Experts warn the pause won’t just hurt those who rely on food stamps—it could ripple through the economy as a whole.

The clock is ticking for families who rely on food assistance. According to federal data, 930,000 Washingtonians were enrolled in the program as of September.

With the government shutdown and USDA funding cuts, food banks say they’re bracing for a wave of need.

What they're saying:

Aaron Cyzyewski, Director of Advocacy and Public Policy at Food Lifeline, said, "We’re in a really tough situation and I don't want to sugarcoat it."

Food Lifeline works with more than 300 agencies across western Washington and served 2.4 million people last year.

File: Grocery store (Credit: Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)

Pastor Jan Bolerjack of Riverton Park United Methodist Church in Tukwila, who has a food pantry available for families to stop by, says she’s already seeing the strain.

"Prior to a year ago, we were probably giving 50 pounds of food to every family that came through and families could come 2 to 3 times a week to the food pantry," Bolerjack said. "Now families can only come once a week, and they can only get 15 pounds of food."

During a meeting discussing HR-1, known as the Big Beautiful Bill, she said she looked inside a bag provided to families which came with canned chili, an onion and coffee creamer. "What kind of meal do you make with that," Bolerjack said.

The toll is already evident as one community member wrote on Nextdoor: "I’m scared, ashamed and desperate. With the shutdown my SNAP is frozen, and the food banks rations are getting smaller – I haven't had a meal in a few days."

Even those who don’t receive benefits could feel the impacts. According to the Food Research and Action Center, every dollar spent on SNAP adds about $1.50 to $1.80 to the economy. USDA data shows SNAP not only helps people buy food but supported 13,500 jobs in 2016.

Local perspective:

The United Food and Commercial Workers Union, representing more than a million grocery, meatpacking, and food processing workers, sent a letter to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins urging emergency funding to maintain SNAP benefits.

UFCW International President Milton Jones wrote, "Any lapse in funding in SNAP will have devastating impacts for program beneficiaries and reduce hours and wages for food workers in every state and congressional district in the country."

Videos on social media include one by TikToker @win_the_job who said "But you don't receive SNAP benefits, you don't work for a grocery store, you don't drive a truck, you don't give a [expletive]. But when all of those things happen, the only way to combat that is to drastically increase the price of groceries."

Experts tell FOX 13, this is a reality. "Without SNAP benefits, we lose that economic stability."

"It’s very frustrating because the government cannot work fast enough in situations like this," Cyzyewski said. "The difference now is that we don’t have the federal government there to help – Republicans in Congress and the Trump administration passed HR1, which effectuated the cuts to SNAP. The point is the federal government is not coming to help — in fact they’re going away and taking billions if not trillions of dollars out of the social safety net."

For now, food banks are urging people to donate or volunteer, saying it’s the fastest way to help families facing hunger as November approaches.

"I would consider it to be a state of emergency," Cyzyewski said.