Last week, our member, Meghan Hullinger from West Virginia, shared her story with the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture Democrats at a press conference about the importance of SNAP for her family. Here is her story: 

My name is Meghan Hullinger, and I’m a proud member of MomsRising. I am a single mom of four wonderful children, ages 5, 7, 12 and 15. We live in Marlinton, West Virginia. I work as a community engagement specialist, supporting people with mental health and addiction issues. I am also a student, working toward my master’s in social work. 

I’m here today because I’m deeply alarmed by Republican proposals to slash SNAP, which is critical for my family and millions of others. Thank you for the chance to share my story. 

I work full-time, but my wages aren’t high and my family struggles to make ends meet. I carefully budget every dollar to make sure I can keep the lights on, buy groceries and pay the bills. Trying to make all the pieces fit together is enormously stressful.

SNAP has been a critical source of support for my family for a long time. It’s the reason I can feed my kids. SNAP also helps me afford healthier options, like fresh produce and protein, so I don’t have to rely as much on cheap, processed foods that don’t provide the nutrition my kids need.

Right now, things are looking up for my family. When I finish my degree, it will significantly boost my income. I am also getting married this fall, and I am hopeful that by the end of this year, my family will no longer rely on SNAP for the first time in many years. But we couldn’t have made it to this point if SNAP hadn’t been available when we needed it. 

But now, Republicans are threatening to strip away that support so they can hand out more tax breaks to billionaires and giant corporations. That’s an outrage. Slashing SNAP would be nothing short of devastating for families like mine. 

We’re already struggling as the cost of food continues to skyrocket, especially in rural communities like ours where most food has to be trucked in over the mountains. Right now in my community, a dozen eggs cost $8 and three chicken breasts is $16! I used to be able to stretch my SNAP benefits to last basically the whole month, but these days, I’m lucky if they last two weeks. 

Over and over again, it feels like moms – especially low-income moms – are left to just ‘figure it out’ amidst systemic challenges like rising health care, child care and food costs. I know what it’s like to pick up extra shifts on the weekends or over the summer so my kids can eat when school meals aren’t available. So many parents in my community can tell you how it feels to skip meals so your child can have a cake on their birthday. We’ll go to great lengths to try to protect our kids from the enormous stress we are shouldering.

But moms are tired. We’re tired of feeling like we don’t have the support of our elected leaders who are supposed to represent us. We’re tired of feeling like what billionaires want always seems to be more important than what our families need. We’re tired of having to defend the basic supports that help our families get by.

It feels like Republican lawmakers don’t understand that SNAP recipients power our economy. SNAP recipients are people who care for our children, the folks who serve our food, grocery clerks, and gas station attendees – all folks who were deemed essential just a few years ago when COVID hit.

So slashing SNAP would have far-reaching consequences not just for families, but for our communities, businesses, and economy.  It will force families in poverty into even more desperate situations. I know from my work in mental health that it will drive up rates of crime, addiction and homelessness. 

Moms will fight these cruel cuts. Billionaires don’t need more tax breaks. And we don’t need more burdensome work requirements for SNAP, which will only punish people in difficult situations, like those juggling caregiving responsibilities, struggling because of our country’s child care crisis, or facing a health crisis. Moms are counting on lawmakers to put families over billionaires and protect SNAP in the next budget package.

Do you have a story about SNAP to share? We want to hear from you! Share your experience here.