Government shutdown could lead to big losses for local grocery stores
Among the many sectors bracing for impacts from the ongoing government shutdown are America’s smaller, local and independent grocery and convenience stores, which derive a significant portion of their income from customers taking advantage of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services advised participants in the government-funded program that they will not receive their monthly benefits starting next month, nor will they in additional months the shutdown drags on.
“I don't ever remember this happening before,” said Tom Taylor, who has owned the Fairground Market grocery store in Prospect for 42 years.
Taylor estimates that roughly one-fifth of his regular customers are participants in SNAP, and his busiest time of the month is typically near the start of the month, shortly after SNAP cardholders typically receive their monthly benefits.
“Our biggest time for sales is typically the first of the month when everybody gets their stamps,” Taylor said. “So I hope it's all taken care of by then.”
Doug Sprankle owns and operates Sprankle’s Neighborhood Market in Saxonburg, one of three locations in the chain, with other locations in Leechburg and Kittanning.
Sprankle estimates that between 8% and 30% of Sprankle’s customers, depending on the location, are SNAP cardholders.
“We're gonna see effects on everything, including general store sales,” Sprankle said. “You're going to see grocery store sales go down because people aren't going to have the food stamps for food.”
Moreover, Sprankle said the freeze may impact some of his employees, who themselves are eligible to participate in the program.
“Some people that work part time and have larger families are eligible,” Sprankle said. “We're going to have crew members that are working part time and are taking part in the program get affected.”
Sprankle also expressed concern for the potential impact on SNAP families as the holiday season looms and families are forced to make tough financial decisions.
According to the Department of Human Services, 14,460 people in Butler County receive SNAP benefits, an average of $212.82 per household. On a statewide level, Pennsylvania receives more than $366 million to provide benefits to nearly 2 million residents.
“If they don't get the food stamps for the month of November, it's really going to affect the Thanksgiving season,” Sprankle said. “At this time of year, especially with the weather getting colder, there's more utility bills for people that are already struggling, so this just creates more hardships.”
Taylor agreed with the potential impact into the holidays.
“It's going to slow everybody down for the holidays,” Taylor said. “I'm sure it's going to affect the business. I sell a lot of things to people with EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) cards.”
Sprankle said he finds the shutdown frustrating.
“As a person that employs people in the area and pays their taxes, it's very frustrating when the number-one thing a government is supposed to do is to provide services and pay the bills,” he said. “And when they turn it into a political fight, it really makes it difficult on the working class and people that rely on those systems to function.”
The government shutdown comes amid massive changes to the SNAP program as part of the second Trump administration’s Big Beautiful Bill, which was narrowly approved by Congress in July.
SNAP recipients now have to prove that they are spending at least 20 hours a week either working, volunteering or participating in a SNAP-sanctioned education program to maintain their full benefits package.
Those who do not meet that requirement and cannot prove that they meet an exception, will only receive three months worth of SNAP benefits in a three-year period.
Other restrictions have also been implemented or are planned to be implemented soon, such as the elimination of prior work requirement exceptions for veterans and former foster youth.
