Minnie Bardenhagen
Editor-in-Chief

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The Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), traditionally known as food stamps, provides more than 41 million Americans with financial assistance to obtain food. In Michigan, approximately 1.4 million people rely on SNAP. According to data from the 2023 US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, 8% of Grand Traverse County households are on SNAP. However, the widely used food assistance program has faced an uncertain state since the federal government shutdown began in October.

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On Oct. 1, the government closed its doors after a proposed spending bill by Republicans did not receive enough votes from Senate Democrats to pass. Spending bills require at least a 60-40 majority vote to pass the Senate, and Republicans only hold a 53-47 majority. Democrats, who narrowly agreed to block a government shutdown months earlier, cited the expiration of healthcare benefits as their concern, framing the spending bill as inadequate in helping the US’s ‘healthcare crisis.’ 

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Although a court order has required the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to continue partial SNAP benefits, as of Nov. 1, SNAP-dependent households in Michigan have navigated daily life without their full benefits. For NMC students and faculty members who rely on the program, several NMC-centered initiatives have stepped up to help fill in the gap.

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In the month of November, the holiday season brings a special demand for food in the United States. NMC’s annual Thanks-for-Giving program, hosted by Professor Kristy McDonald’s Professional Communications class in partnership with the NMC Food Pantry and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwestern Michigan, passes out Thanksgiving meal boxes to families in need. 

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NMC students Alex Smith and Daniel Sanders, both culinary students and part of the program’s team, said that after November SNAP benefits were placed in jeopardy, they received a donation that allowed them to increase the number of families from 175 to 200.

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“When that all happened, we got a surge of people signing up for the meals,” Sanders explained, “And then when we realized that [SNAP] wasn’t going to be around for Thanksgiving, we kind of were hoping for more boxes, and we started striving [to earn] more funds to make more boxes for those families so we could help out in the best way we can.”

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The program hosted a glow-skating fundraiser in late October, and they plan to host a euchre tournament fundraiser on Nov. 19. They are also hosting a prize giveaway, in which every person who donates $10 gets a chance to win a two-night stay at the Great Wolf Lodge, a six-course wine dinner at Chateau Chantal, brunch at the Aerie Restaurant at Grand Traverse Resort, or lunch at Lobdell’s.

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“We’re able to reach more, and we want to use all of the money that we get. It shouldn’t go to waste,” Smith said, “We have more people on the wait list... We’re still trying to figure that out, and we would love to help them, but we need to figure out our numbers more.”

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The program is also asking for donations of peanut butter and granola bars. There are red bins placed in the Innovation Center, the Parsons-Stulen building, and on the Great Lakes Campus.

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“We really would love [peanut butter and granola bars] because we want to put them in all of the boxes, especially because our box is also trying to think about the week after Thanksgiving and feeding them [at that time] also,” Smith explained. She said that both leftovers and non-perishable foods can help with that.

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NMC’s food pantries, both the stationary and mobile ones, have been combating food insecurities in the community for years, with the stationary pantry starting in 2017 and the mobile pantry starting in 2023. 

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In an email reporting the statistics of the Nov. 3 mobile food pantry, organizer Cathy Warner said that they had served 144 families, which was up 30% from the 110 families they served on Oct. 20. Of the 144 families, 40% of the people served were NMC households. There were 186 children, 59 seniors, and 10 veterans. She explained that the number of children served increased by seven percent from two weeks prior, and that the number of seniors and veterans had doubled.

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“I think these numbers reflect the cuts of SNAP benefits as families scramble to find alternatives for food for their households,” Warner wrote in the email, “We are the community’s college. I know that this is the time when we can step up to take care of our students, neighbors, and community members.”

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In the Fall 2025 semester, both pantries have seen an increased number of visitors, even before SNAP benefits were cut off. In late October, Warner described an uptick in visitors to the food pantry, “We are up in participants this fall by around 15-20 families… and that was prior to the SNAP program being cut.”

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Paul Kolak, an organizer of the stationary pantry, echoed a similar trend. He said that the number of orders was up 28% from Sep. 2024 to Sep. 2025, and attributed this to rising food prices and increased enrollment.

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Warner acknowledged that since the prospect of SNAP benefits ending on Nov. 1 came into play, they have anticipated a larger community turnout. 

“I have already received many additional requests for information on our program—both from people wanting food-help and those wanting to volunteer to help others,” Warner explained. She expressed gratitude for the amount of fresh food they would be receiving.

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“I was shopping at our local Tom’s and was shocked to see a three-pack of romaine lettuce was up to $9,” Warner said, “Those prices aren’t doable for families.”

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As of press time, the government was still shut down, and benefits were still in question.