Choosing Between School and Food
JP moms share how cuts to SNAP, WIC, and other support are impacting their families during the federal government shutdown.
This time of year is hard enough for college students — they’re trying to wrap up papers and prepare for final exams in the hectic lead-up to the winter break. They should be able to focus on their studies and give their best.
Now, add to that stress the loss of SNAP, WIC, TANF, and other funding to pay for basic necessities like rent, utilities, and food — on top of the daily duties that come with working and parenting solo — and you’ll begin to understand the weight JP moms and other student parents are carrying right now.
“As a single parent working hard to balance school, work, and caring for my child, the SNAP interruption has been devastating,” one mom told us. “Losing my main job has already stretched our finances thin, and without SNAP, I’m struggling to make sure my family has enough to eat.”
“I have no money for food,” another JP mom shared. “I work enough to cover non-grocery bills, but I’m in five classes and the sole caretaker of my daughter. SNAP being stalled (and defunded in general) has been devastating.” She felt that devastation within the first five days.
On top of the financial strain, there’s the issue of time: The strain on already-stretched schedules has been a common stressor among JP moms. “With three kids, it has put much more stress on my shoulders as I scramble to schedule hours at work to make sure I have enough cash to cover food,” a JP mom said. “This has significantly impacted my studies. I’m behind in assignments because, every day, I’ve been working as much as I can.”
There are also the hours moms are losing as they wait in line for and shop at food pantries, which have been a boon — it’s a catch-22. “It’s such a distraction for me as a single mom in school. I don’t have any bandwidth to give to trying to find food at pantries,” a mom explained. Those hours she spent at the food pantry were originally intended to complete a research paper that she was forced to turn in late.
These are the kinds of choices single moms are being forced to make during the government shutdown.
“It’s not like I’m sitting at home watching TV all day. I’m going to school, I’m working part-time, I’m doing all of the things that I need to do — and I’m still being failed by the system.” —JP Mom
When the Social Safety Net Is Pulled From Under You
“When safety nets are delayed or uncertain,” said JP President and CEO Chastity Lord, “it’s single mothers and their children who feel the impact first and most deeply.”
And for JP moms and other single student parents, who have heeded conventional wisdom by pursuing higher education as a path to economic mobility, that deep impact touches another layer.
One of our recent graduates just completed her nursing degree and has not yet started her new job. No longer at her federal work-study job, she has no income in the interim, so losing SNAP as well has really thrown her family. “I’m struggling to borrow money and find food to feed them that isn’t completely horrible for their bodies — but also isn’t more than a few dollars,” she explained. “The timing couldn’t have been worse. I worked so hard to finish school just to struggle worse than I ever have.”
Another mom described her experience losing both SNAP and TANF funding. Not only is she lacking the $400 SNAP payment that helped her feed her family; she’s also sorely missing the $600 TANF support that helped cover her share of her subsidized rent, utilities, and her phone bill.
“It’s not like I’m sitting at home watching TV all day,” she pointed out. “I’m going to school, I’m working part-time, I’m doing all of the things that I need to do — and I’m still being failed by the system.”
We Need Community Support and Good Public Policy
At JP, we believe in the power of community and that community is a verb. It requires care and action. That’s why, in addition to the support we offer families each day, we’re also working to raise additional funds so that families can meet their most urgent needs during the shutdown. It’s also been heartening to see the ways that mutual aid initiatives have stepped in to support families, along with invaluable food pantries, donation efforts, and more.
But community support goes only so far. It takes all of us — and every available lever — to ensure that all families can thrive. We need public policy that supports this goal.
We will continue to advocate for inclusive policies, and we hope you’ll join us.
Can we count on you to help JP families ride out this storm?