The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts addresses the lapse of SNAP benefits

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - The federal safety net is going away for hungry families across western Massachusetts as the United States Department of Agriculture officially announced that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits will stop November 1. Western Mass News is getting answers on how this impacts food banks, pantries, and people of western Massachusetts.

The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts is calling this a “human-made disaster” that will impact all walks of life, not just those who are facing food insecurity.

“During the great recession and the pandemic, we could count on the federal government to have our backs. It doesn’t appear we can count on the federal government right now.” Said Andrew Morehouse, the Executive Director of the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.

We’ve talked about it in previous reports but to emphasize how drastic this decision is, 191,000 people in western Massachusetts take advantage of SNAP benefits.

That statistic not even touching the 42,000,000 people that are provided with snap benefits throughout the country. According to the food bank of western Massachusetts, for every meal that the food bank provides, the federal government’s snap program provides nine meals, proving just how much our country relies on this funding each month.

Andrew Morehouse, the Executive Director of the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, told us that the need for food has only grown in 2025 and without the funding from SNAP, hunger will become a major problem nationwide.

“We’re providing more food than we ever had in our forty plus year history already because of the high cost of living. Where are we going to come up with the food for 191,000 people who haven’t relied on food assistance from pantries or not nearly as much because they were able to count on the federal government having their backs?” Morehouse added.

Now if you’re wondering whether these benefits will be secure for the month of November, the United States Department of Agriculture has officially announced on their website: “Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01.”

If you’d like to learn how you can help out those in need, you can click HERE.