SNAP, the nation’s largest food assistance program, is a critical lifeline for people across the country, including many Islanders who are struggling to afford the food they need. Both short- and long-term cuts to the program began going into effect last weekend, putting extra strain and uncertainty on people already facing food insecurity and shifting even more of the responsibility for keeping our neighbors fed to food pantries and community organizations like Island Grown.

Forty-two million Americans rely on SNAP, 1.1 million of whom live here in Massachusetts. Two thirds of beneficiaries in our state are children, elders, veterans and those with disabilities.

On Nov. 1, a temporary freeze and now an uncertain reinstatement of partial benefits began, related to the shutdown of the federal government. On that same day, long-term changes to SNAP also began going into effect, unrelated to the legal and political battles raging around the shutdown. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act included new work requirements, eligibility restrictions and other provisions that will eliminate $186 billion in funding for SNAP and reduce or eliminate benefits for millions of people over the next 10 years.

De-prioritizing funding for those facing food insecurity is not only a short-term decision around the shutdown, it is an explicit goal of our current federal government. In a nation of plenty, we find it unconscionable that strategic decisions are being made to intentionally turn away from those who cannot afford to put food on the table.

SNAP benefits are already low relative to the cost of food, especially here on the Vineyard where food costs are amongst the highest in the country. The average beneficiary receives $190 a month, which is spent on food at local grocery stores and farm stands. The last publicly available SNAP enrollment data for the Island is from 2022, which showed that 1,012 islanders received SNAP. Over the course of the year, this means that SNAP injects over $2.3 million into our local economy. Cuts to this program not only hurt beneficiaries, they hurt local businesses too.

Compounding the impact of SNAP cuts on Islanders is that they are arriving when seasonal work has diminished or disappeared, the holidays are approaching, and federally mandated cuts to Medicaid are also beginning to go into effect, which will have a profound impact on so many in our community.

Nonprofits and community organizations simply cannot absorb the cost of the food support that SNAP provides, especially when so many are already living on the financial edge, and with new hardships on the way. We need our federal and state decision makers to push to restore and fully fund SNAP benefits.

In the meantime, we are going to have to rely on each other. Please consider donating if you can. Thanks to IGI’s purchasing relationship with the Greater Boston Food Bank, we are able to buy food at a steeply discounted rate for our pantry clients, maximizing the purchasing power of every dollar — $100 helps us feed a family of four for three months; $1,000 feeds 10 families. A gift of any size can be made at igimv.org/donate, and will make a meaningful difference in the lives of our neighbors.

If you need help accessing food or meals, please do not hesitate to reach out. You can visit our website at igimv.org/need-food-now, or call or text our food equity team at 508-296-8384 and we will get back to you promptly to connect you to the food resources that best meet your needs.

At IGI we have worked for almost 20 years in partnership with dozens of other organizations and businesses, hundreds of volunteers, and thousands of supporters to build a strong, coordinated local food system that reflects our community’s values of care and compassion to weather times like this one. Please join us. Together we will rise to the challenge of this moment and make sure that no one on our Island goes hungry.

Noli Taylor is the co-executive director of Island Grown Initiative.