‘What do we have to lean on?’: SNAP cuts could have big local consequences

Growing up on Charlotte’s east side, Amaya Robinson watched the city morph. New buildings popped up all over, people poured into the city to inhabit them and the city’s cost of living skyrocketed. 

A May study revealed that a single Charlottean needs to make $92,612 to live comfortably.

Robinson applied for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, at 18 — as soon as she was able to receive it on her own. Now 24, the mom of one with another on the way says while the $536 monthly support is essential to feeding her growing family, it’s not nearly enough.

By the third week of the month she’s usually out of benefits and relying on leftovers to tide her over. To lose benefits completely, she says, would be devastating. 

“The resources that they give us that are supposed to be in place to help us when we need it, they’re starting to take it all,” she said. “What do we have to lean on after that?” 

President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, passed in July, slashed more than $1 trillion for Medicaid and SNAP. Now states like North Carolina must find a way to front hundreds of millions annually or cut the SNAP program altogether. 

The loss of SNAP would be catastrophic for people facing food insecurity in Mecklenburg County and across the state, leaders say. With more than 137,000 Mecklenburg residents relying on SNAP, the program’s elimination would exacerbate an existing crisis that food pantries and other nonprofits don’t have the capacity to fill. 

“It sets us up for the potential that people will be hungry,” Dr. Raynard Washington, director of the Mecklenburg County Public Health Department, said. “They won’t have resources on their own to access food, and the system that currently exists to be a safety net will be overwhelmed and not able to provide those services to everyone.” 

What’s at stake for North Carolina?

With the passage of the SNAP cuts, costs that were previously absorbed by the federal government will now be put on the states.

Starting in 2027, North Carolina will have to take on 15% of the cost of food benefits in the SNAP program — about $420 million annually. The bill also increases the share of administrative costs the state will cover, from 50% to 75% — adding an annual $14 million cost to the state. 

The General Assembly is now looking down the barrel of a tough decision — find a way to fund that or withdraw from the program.

Some 1.4 million North Carolinians rely on SNAP, including 600,000 children and 159,000 seniors, Michael Leigh, deputy secretary for opportunity and well-being for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, said. 

With the SNAP program, participants can purchase groceries such as fruits and vegetables, meat and produce, breads and more. Benefit levels are based on a person’s income. 

During a Mecklenburg County commissioners meeting on Aug. 8, Robert Nesbit, chief of staff of the county’s Consolidated Human Services Agency, gave a presentation on the potential local impact of the Big Beautiful Bill. 

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services is currently presenting options to the General Assembly, one of which is to find a way to fund the $420 million cost, Nesbit said. 

Historically, costs like these have shifted to counties, Nesbit told commissioners. That could cost Mecklenburg County about $53.5 million annually. That’s $2.2 million more than the county’s annual public library budget.

“If the worst case scenario comes to fruition, we’ll have to make some tough decisions,” County Manager Mike Bryant told commissioners. 

Washington said within the past six months his teams have seen an increase in SNAP applications, which has put a strain on resources. 

“Adding an additional administrative burden without any additional resources will tax not just Mecklenburg County, but every county in the state in a significant way,” he said. “We simply don’t have adequate staff or workforce capacity to be able to add more tasks to their workloads while also trying to deal with increasing numbers of cases that are coming.” 

A gap food pantries can’t fill

Lines of cars wind around the parking lot of Nourish Up’s 90,000-square-foot Hunger Hub in northwest Charlotte. Thousands of volunteers help the nonprofit fight food insecurity by delivering meals, organizing food and manning food pantries. 

More than 200,000 people face food insecurity in Mecklenburg County, according to the organization. And the need is only growing, Tina Postel, the organization’s CEO, says. 

Last year, Nourish Up hit a grim record. The nonprofit fed 164,000 people — the most it has fed in its 50-year history. That’s enough people to fill Bank of American Stadium twice, Postel said. Once with adults. The second time with children and seniors. 

Atrium Health referred 19,000 patients to Nourish Up last year. Novant referred an additional 12,000. And only a quarter of Nourish Up’s clients are SNAP recipients, indicating food insecurity’s deepening impact. 

“For every one person I feed, the estimates are (that) SNAP feeds another nine,” Postel said. “My numbers are already at a record high… How could I possibly compete with that? You can’t increase my numbers nine times. I just couldn’t do it.” 

It’s no secret Charlotte’s cost of living is increasing and putting a pinch on Charlotte’s most vulnerable communities, Washington said. But if SNAP were to go away, it’s unrealistic to think food pantries like Nourish Up could fill the gap. 

“You’re talking about replacing hundreds of millions of dollars of food resources,” he said. “You would have to significantly raise revenue or significantly cut other initiatives across the board to be able to raise enough funding to close the gap there.” 

Assessing priorities

Locally, a lack of affordable housing and a livable wage are the two main factors Postel sees pushing families into food insecurity. 

Amaya Robinson feels this pinch constantly. She makes $15 an hour selling Medicare. But in her mind, a job of that importance shouldn’t be in the same wage bracket as someone working at McDonald’s or Cook Out. 

Robinson’s struggles to make her SNAP benefits last the month are to be expected with a growing son and being pregnant. Her son, who’ll turn one in October, has started eating solids. And with a baby on the way, she’s eating for two.

The government should be finding ways to expand help for people like her, she says, not cutting it.

“Put yourself in our shoes,” she said. “The people who are making these decisions are the people who don’t use the resources. … It’s only fair to just think about the people that it’s actually affecting.”