John Kelly has witnessed it firsthand—the growing number of people who turn to his food pantry in Scranton for help: families struggling to put food on the table, parents who have lost their jobs, and people who don’t know how they’re going to make ends meet.
Last year, around 30,000 people used the Bread Basket of NEPA’s food pantries in northeastern Pennsylvania. That’s a sharp increase from 20,000 in 2023. Kelly believes this surge came after a federal program designed to increase food benefits expired, leaving people with less support from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
Now, with the Trump administration and some Republican lawmakers pushing to cut SNAP benefits, Kelly worries that even more people will need help. This time, however, his pantry is already stretched thin, trying to serve as many people as it can. If the number of people needing help increases again by 50%, as Kelly fears, the pantry won’t be able to provide the same amount of food they currently do.
“We’ve discussed in our pantry about cutting the amount of help we give people,” Kelly said. “It’s not something we want to do, but it might become necessary due to the reality of our budget situation.” Right now, people can visit the pantry twice a month. But, if demand increases, Kelly says they may have to reduce it to once a month.
SNAP, which helps around two million people in Pennsylvania, has long been a target for those who believe the program encourages dependency. Former President Donald Trump criticized SNAP throughout his term, even attempting to remove eligibility for nearly 700,000 people. A court ruled against this move. Now, as the Trump administration and Republicans look for ways to fund other initiatives like mass deportation and tax cuts for the wealthy, SNAP and other programs like Medicaid are facing possible cuts.
Specific details about the cuts have not been finalized, but the latest budget proposal from House Republicans on February 12 suggests cuts of at least $1.5 trillion, which would heavily impact Medicaid and SNAP benefits.
Marc Stier, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Policy Center, warned that such cuts would lead to widespread suffering. “Cuts to public assistance programs will lead to significant pain, and even death, because many people across the state will struggle to meet basic needs,” Stier said. “Some people are going to die. Some people will go bankrupt due to medical expenses. Many people will suffer.”
Medicaid, which provides health coverage to about three million Pennsylvanians, is another program facing cuts. Kristin Volchansky, who now works as the advocacy director for Action Together NEPA, knows firsthand how important Medicaid can be. In her twenties, Volchansky was diagnosed with a severe case of mononucleosis.
Her illness left her unable to work and made her dependent on Medicaid to cover the costs of her treatment. She relied on Medicaid for several years, eventually using the program to regain her health and start a full-time job.
“I was able to regain my strength and become financially independent because of Medicaid,” Volchansky explained. “Without it, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to get back on my feet.” She warns that cuts to Medicaid would be disastrous for people who rely on the program to survive.
In Pennsylvania, Medicaid covers three out of every eight children, five out of every eight nursing home residents, two out of every five people with disabilities, and one out of every six adults between the ages of 19 and 64. Losing this crucial coverage would have severe consequences for many people.
The potential cuts to both Medicaid and SNAP could also harm local businesses and hospitals. Without Medicaid, people may delay seeking medical care until their conditions worsen, forcing hospitals to treat them as emergencies. This could lead to more hospital closures in Pennsylvania, a state already grappling with hospital shutdowns.
“The state would see many more hospital closures if Medicaid is cut,” Stier said. “Medicaid helps not only those directly enrolled, but it also supports people who don’t qualify for the program but still rely on the services.”
Moreover, cuts to SNAP could hurt local farmers and grocery stores. Amanda Gordineer, the director of food equity at Food Dignity, explained that SNAP helps support local food businesses by encouraging people to spend their benefits at grocery stores and markets. If SNAP benefits are reduced, people may be forced to rely on emergency food programs like food pantries instead, negatively affecting local businesses.
“SNAP helps support our local economy,” Gordineer said. “Without it, people may have to choose between buying groceries or paying for other basic needs, like rent or medicine.”
For now, food pantries across the state are trying to keep up with the increasing demand. However, as Kelly pointed out, they may not be able to handle another surge in demand without additional resources.
Dan Tomlinson, a retired 71-year-old Scranton resident who relies on the Bread Basket pantry, explained how important these resources are. “Without the pantry, I wouldn’t be able to afford things like cereal, fruits, vegetables, and milk,” Tomlinson said. “I can’t buy these items at the store, so it helps a lot to get them here.”
Without pantries like Bread Basket, Tomlinson fears many people would go hungry. “It helps me stretch a meal,” he said. “Without it, there would be a lot of hungry people.”
As the debate over cuts to SNAP and Medicaid continues, it remains to be seen how Pennsylvania’s food and health systems will cope. If the cuts go through, people who rely on these programs will face even greater challenges.
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