friend,

I’m Theresa, and I work to stop policies that push people deeper into poverty — today, I’m emailing you with an urgent ask.

Friend, I need you to take action to protect Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding and call for the end of the government shutdown. Raise your voice and demand your members of Congress take action before November 1 to reject these cruel cuts and fully fund critical needs programs.

Congress has the power to end the government shutdown and stop the looming hunger crisis that will hit November 1, when the Trump administration pauses funding for SNAP — a vital program that keeps food on the table for millions of struggling children and families.

Before the shutdown, far-right members of Congress chose to champion Trump’s “Big Ugly Budget Bill,” which gutted health care and food assistance in order to fund sweeping tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy.

Then, they shut the federal government down when President Trump and far-right members of Congress refused to come to the negotiating table and compromise to stop skyrocketing health care costs.

🚨 Now, they’re using the shutdown to withhold SNAP from hungry families — and force Democrats to give up on restoring affordable health care. SNAP is our nation’s largest food assistance program, serving an estimated 42 million people — including 16 million children, 8 million older adults, and 4 million people with disabilities. Please take action right now >>

Independent analysis released in August by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) confirms the dire predictions that this legislation will harm millions of Americans. The bottom line is, if SNAP isn't funded, Americans WILL go hungry.

Friend, fighting hunger is a moral imperative that cannot be ignored or easily dismissed as politics. Raise your voice and demand your members of Congress hold the line to protect SNAP, restore health care and fully fund critical needs programs.

The Southern Poverty Law Center is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond. We work in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi, where communities face some of the highest rates of poverty, hunger and poor health outcomes in the nation.

🚨 Across these five states, 7 million people could lose their SNAP assistance and approximately 3.6 million people could lose health care from Medicaid cuts and rising health care premiums.

The “Big Ugly Budget Bill” and ongoing shutdown are a consequence of many members of Congress choosing to prioritize massive tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy over the health and lives of the constituents they pledged to protect. We’re appalled by this betrayal, and we know you are too.

That’s why it’s so important that you demand Congress protect SNAP recipients, stop the impending health care crisis, and fully fund lifesaving critical needs programs.

Thank you for standing with us,

Theresa Lau
Senior Policy Counsel, Eradicating Poverty
Southern Poverty Law Center