Hunger and Cold Loom as Shutdown Imperils Funding for Antipoverty Programs
Within days, tens of millions of low-income Americans may lose assistance for food, child care and utilities if the federal government remains shut down.
By Linda Qiu and Eileen Sullivan, The New York Times, Oct. 27, 2025
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As the shutdown nears the one-month mark, the lapse in federal funding is a looming crisis for vulnerable Americans who depend on government assistance for basic needs like groceries and heating.
For 42 million people who rely on SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, it means the loss of grocery assistance when food banks are already stretched thin. For the 6.7 million women and children who participate in the Women, Infants and Children nutrition program, or WIC, there is uncertainty about whether the Trump administration will find stopgap funds to keep the program going after this week.
For nearly six million households that rely on a program that helps low-income Americans pay for energy costs, it means facing expensive heating bills and the possibility of utility shut-offs in the winter. And for many of the more than 65,000 children and families enrolled in 140 Head Start early-education programs across the country that depend on immediate federal funding, it means finding new child care options as early as next week.….[end quote]
Apart from the hardships for individuals and families, the Macro economy depends on the government subsidies which flow to groceries and other local providers. In many rural areas the grocery stores are small (towns are too isolated for a Walmart) and withdrawal of customers may cause business failure.
At the same time, families will be hit by job losses.
UPS Cuts 48,000 Jobs in Management and Operations
Shipper discloses 14,000 white-collar job cuts; shares jump
Amazon Lays Off 14,000 Corporate Workers
Plans call for cuts of up to 30,000 jobs, or roughly 10% of the online giant’s white-collar workforce
By Sean McLain, The Wall Street Journal, Updated Oct. 28, 2025
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Large employers are trimming the number of knowledge workers they employ, with Meta Platforms, Molson Coors, Booz Allen and Charter Communications all announcing layoffs in recent weeks. More big companies are also betting they can grow without hiring.
JPMorgan Chase’s chief financial officer told investors recently that the bank now has a “very strong bias against having the reflective response” to hire more people. Aerospace and defense company RTX boasted last week that its sales rose even without adding employees…. [end quote]
Target (1,800 jobs), Nestle (16,000), Telefonica (6,000) and AMAT (~1,444 employees (4% of workforce) are other companies that recently announced layoffs.
The ratio of Unemployment Level/Job Openings is gradually increasing, showing the tightening of the labor market.
SNAP will end this week if the government doesn’t provide funding. There will be major hardships if the government closure continues much longer.
Based on the latest available data, an average of approximately 41.7 million people received SNAP benefits each month in FY 2024. The percentage of the U.S. population that uses the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), often referred to as food stamps, is approximately 1 in 8 Americans, or 12.3%.
Wendy
