Friday, October 31, 2025

People will go hungry

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This is America

Stories of justice and action across America

Fri Oct 31 2025

America is entering an unprecedented hunger crisis as President Donald Trump and Congress' failure to reach a deal as the federal government shutdown's real-world implications come to average folk's doorstep.

Hi there, This is America readers, Phillip M. Bailey, chief political correspondent for USA TODAY.

Officials across the nation are scrambling to blunt the first lapse food assistance since the program was created.

Officially about 42 million people rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program , or SNAP, to eat every month, according to the USDA. That means around 12% of the entire country utilizes these benefits. Yet lawmakers can't seem to find a way to end what's becoming a historic government shutdown, or find other ways to keep people fed during the impasse.

A Democratic-sponsored bill that would have kept money coming for food stamps and nutritional programs for low-income women, infants, and children was blocked by Republicans on the Senate floor.

Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., gave a forceful floor speech against that measure, calling on senators to instead pass the House-passed temporary funding bill to reopen the government, while Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, is pressuring "moderate and centrist" Democrats to join the GOP and end the stalemate.

Trump wants to ditch the filibuster altogether.

Mayors and local food banks, meanwhile, are bracing for the impact as the shutdown plays out on kitchen tables and at airports, where air traffic controllers remain unpaid.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office now estimates the shutdown will cost the U.S. economy from $7 billion to $14 billion -- depending on how long it last the shutdown lasts another month -- that will never be recovered.

An assortment of food sits at the Food Bank for Larimer County in Fort Collins, Colo. on Oct. 28, 2025. Food Bank for Larimer County is feeling the pinch as the government shutdown stretches on, endangering SNAP benefits for 600,000 Coloradans.

Logan Newell, The Coloradoan via USA TODAY NETWORK

For more on what's happening with the shutdown and SNAP crisis, check out USA TODAY Network's coverage:

Who will be impacted by food stamps running out? Here are SNAP recipients by the numbers.

States SNAP back, sue Trump administration over food aid cutoff: Attorneys general and governors from 25 Democrat-led states filed a lawsuit hoping to force the Trump administration to fund program.

Families are worried: People like 29-year-old Taylour Grant, who has four children, won't have money for food in a few days and they're desperately looking for alternatives.

Americans disapprove of White House demolition 2-to-1

Trump's vision for a new 90,000 square-foot ballroom at the White House may not be as innocuous as some want it to be after a new survey shows an overwhelming number of Americans think it is a bad idea.

By a wide 2-to-1 margin, a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll released this week found 56% of Americans opposed the sudden demolition of the the historic White House East Wing. That includes 45% who "strongly oppose" it versus 15% who said they "strongly support" the project.

All six members of the Commission of Fine Arts -- the panel that is supposed to review this construction project -- were fired as crews tore down building's section. The new ballroom carries a $300 million price tag, which Trump has said will use private donations to pay for.

Thanks for reading! See you back next week with more stories of justice from across the country.