Food banks across the U.S. are bracing for a possible surge in demand

CAPE FEAR, NC (WWAY) — In Washington, the House has sprung back into action after a prolonged stalemate, trying to pass President Donald Trump’s tax and spending cuts package, which could bring drastic changes to food assistance programs across the country.

Some organizations in the Cape Fear area are preparing for those changes.

The so-called Big Beautiful Bill would make changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, including raising the working age requirements.

One organization that could be affected by the change is the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.

They provide food to more than 80,000 families in the Cape Fear region alone.

But Food Bank Vice President Jason Kanawati Stephany said Snap’s numbers are staggering.

“Our statewide food assistance network provides over 250 million meals a year,” Stephany said. “It’s one of the largest food assistance networks in the country. But for every meal we provide, SNAP provides 9. So when you’re talking about even a 10% cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, that would require us to double in size.”

Brunswick Family Assistance Executive Director Kyle Abrams said even more people could be affected and end up in need of help from his organization.

“It’s just going to put more people in crisis, it’s going to put more people in need who might have just been borderline and able to get through because they had that food stamps to depend on and know that they had that in their back pocket if they needed to use it,” Abrams said.

Stephany said this bill won’t just impact families, but also the economy.

“It’s just going to put more people in crisis, it’s going to put more people in need who might have just been borderline and able to get through because they had that food stamps to depend on and know that they had that in their back pocket if they needed to use it.”