The announcement on the Your Texas Benefits app reads: “SNAP benefits for November will not be issued if the federal government shutdown continues past October 27.” I logged in to see a mere $16 left in my account. It wouldn’t last the week, even if I was careful.
The message was cold and clinical, like every other notice. However, it wasn’t a policy update this time; it was a countdown. The notice was sent to every Texan receiving SNAP: Your food is about to stop coming.
Like many social work students, I’ve been watching the headlines gather like dark clouds over our classrooms—each warning about the shutdown felt less like politics and more like a hunger forecast. Texas A&M University–Central Texas (TAMUCT) is labeled a non-traditional university; in reality, this means many of my classmates are working mothers and recently discharged veterans with limited incomes. The Campus Cupboard, a student-run food bank, serves to reduce the staggering 20 percent of students who are labeled “food insecure” when they transfer from a community college to the university. However, resources are limited and sometimes lack variety.
