US small businesses feel the pinch of the SNAP cuts
發佈日期: 2025-11-12 22:33
TVB News
The longest US government shutdown in history could come to an end soon with Democrats not getting the health insurance provisions they wanted and Republicans not escaping blame. The fallout of the shutdown however has landed on millions of Americans.
A little more than a year ago, Ryan Sprankle welcomed President Donald Trump to one of his three grocery stores his family owns near Pittsburgh. Trump was on the campaign trail and they talked about grocery prices.
But these days Sprankle would have a different message if Trump or any other lawmaker visited his store.
Sprankle wants them to know that cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP during the government shutdown has hurt his customers and his small independent chain.
Sprankle, owner of Sprankle's Neighborhood Market said: "When I first heard that it could happen, I'm like, there's no way they're gonna let that happen. They might play games with other things. They're not gonna play games with people's food going into the cold, going into, you know, the holiday season coming up. They're not gonna use that. But they did."
The federal government shutdown has also created delays in some states of the programme that helps millions of American families heat and cool their homes.
The Berry family in Maine keep the cold out by insulating their broken window with what they can find.
Gerald Berry, Baileyville, Maine resident said: "We've got a broken window in our boy's room and we can't afford to replace it right now so we're going to put plastic
on it to keep the cold out." Berry is recovering from surgery for stage four stomach cancer and relies on government assistance. "Got diagnosed with the cancer, I was out of work and I needed help and we got some heat assistance when we really needed it. You know it's kind of come from emergency funds and the funds not being available this year are a little you know, scary, so we're kind of buttoning up things a little tight."
Meanwhile the FAA has not put a timeline on when it will ease back on the flight limitations. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says the cuts won't go away until safety measures improve and staffing levels stabilise at air traffic control facilities.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said: "Long after you all finished covering the shutdown, we are going to be stuck dealing with this problem where we're about 2,000 controllers short, trying to make up that difference."
