“While most kids are worried about who likes them, I worry about what’s going to happen to me in the future. Will I be able to get a job that allows me to live?”
That’s what a 13-year-old girl in Bloomington, IL told NPR after her father was kicked off of SNAP. He now depends on a nearby food pantry to feed his three children with special needs.
Nearly 48 million people in the US—including 14 million children—don’t get enough to eat, according to 2024 statistics from the USDA. Just under 40 million are enrolled in SNAP, also known as food stamps.
The Trump administration’s recent changes to the program added miles of red tape to the application process, included stricter work requirements, and eliminated eligibility for immigrant refugees and trafficking victims. As a result, three million people lost SNAP benefits in 2025. Upcoming changes in regulations will force a further six million off the rolls, including almost two million children.
Wafaa Alhaj Ali and her husband fled Syria in 2023 with their six children. After changes to the program, the family went from receiving $850 a month to nothing. She told The New York Times, “If I could go back to Syria, I would, because it’s getting too much. How am I going to feed my kids?”
Keelin Erbe, a single mother with two toddlers, is a healthcare professional. She makes $100 a month “too much” to receive SNAP benefits. With her wages eaten up by the cost of childcare and housing, she sometimes goes without dinner so her children can eat.
Erbe is not alone. Thanks to the rising cost of living, the face of hunger in America is changing. Food banks increasingly serve workers with part-time or even full-time jobs.
Cuts to SNAP have only increased pressure on food banks. Every time there is a change in restrictions or eligibility, people turn to food banks instead of, or in addition to, SNAP. All over the country, food banks have reported an increased demand of 10–20% in recent years.
United Food Bank in Mesa, AZ is “at capacity.” Second Harvest Food Bank in Santa Cruz, CA has seen a 25% spike in demand since the beginning of the Iran war. Meanwhile, New York City, the richest city in the richest country in history, saw a record 8.4 million visits to food pantries in 2024.
This is the situation before the consequences of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz hit the food supply.
America’s 89 million acres of farmland produce over three metric tons of food per capita annually, enough to feed 138% of the US population. The blight of hunger that affects millions isn’t due to disease, drought, or war—it’s because the working class cannot afford to buy back what it produces.
Now, workers in the US and around the world are forced to bear the cost of the war in Iran. But the increasing misery of our class will reach a breaking point. When the daily struggle to eat transforms into a collective struggle against capitalism, the ruling class will reap what they sow.