Area charitable food assistance programs brace for surge as cuts loom

GREEN BAY – Area charitable food programs are gearing up for a tough 2026.

As of October 1, 2025, budget cuts from the federal administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (BBB) will create barriers for people looking to receive federally funded meals through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), in addition to defunding food education programs such as SNAP-Ed.

Rooted In Inc., Founder and Executive Director   Selena Darrow, described the role that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) plays in the community.

“SNAP is the most efficient program that the federal government has supported over the years to feed people. They’ve been historically taking responsibility for feeding people in our country, and they’re now making it a little more difficult to get SNAP benefits,” Darrow said.

“Most people who receive SNAP right now are working. The majority of people on SNAP right now are children, older adults and disabled people. Of those people, 92% of those families live in poverty.”

Director of Advocacy and Community Engagement at Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin Matt Sienstra detailed the new roadblocks to receiving SNAP benefits.

“The federal government is not going in and cutting benefits directly…All the cuts that are going to happen is because they’re making it a lot harder for people to maintain their eligibility,” he said. “When you add in all the paperwork and having to justify your hours (by uploading it to an app or walking down to a difficult-to-reach welfare center)...does that mean that someone gives up because they don’t have time to wait for hours? This is what we’re worried about.”

Sienstra added that aside from the increased eligibility requirements, “the biggest change is going to come from no longer being able to match the food share benefit to dramatic rises in cost from inflation.”

Darrow elaborated on the differences.

“There used to be a cost-of-living adjustment built into SNAP, so your dollar amount would go up. That is no longer going to happen. So costs (of living) go up, your dollar amount stays the same and your dollars don’t go as far as they used to…When they have less dollars or it’s more difficult to be on SNAP and you’re still hungry, where will you go to get your food?” Darrow added.

Rooted In Inc and Feeding America know they will have to carry the new burden, Sienstra emphasized just how important access to the SNAP program is for thousands of families.

“We (Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin) deliver tens of millions of pounds of food to nearly 400 pantry partners. For every one meal that Feeding America delivers, the SNAP program provides nine…so you can see the power of the SNAP program and how small changes in that program can have enormous ripple effects,” Sienstra said.

As of October 1, 2025, federal funding will end for SNAP-Ed. SNAP-Ed, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education, is a federally funded program that provides nutrition education and obesity prevention to SNAP recipients and eligible individuals.

As Darrow said, “Education absolutely 100% works. It’s preventative… For every dollar spent on SNAP-Ed, $10 are saved in long-term healthcare costs. So, when people say poor people shouldn’t be educated about nutrition and eating. Well, ultimately, it’s going to cost us because all of our healthcare costs are now going to go up because we don’t have SNAP-Ed to mitigate (it).”
Sienstra urged residents to stay informed.

“None of these changes have happened yet…We don’t have a date yet, but the federal government is going to have to send guidance to the state of Wisconsin, and when that happens, we’re going to be ringing the alarm bell,” he said.

In the meantime, Sienstra and Darrow are preparing for an influx of families to feed at local pantries.

“At Trinity Lutheran Church (food pantry), we have historically served 15 individuals or families per week. We’re now serving over 30. And we expect that number to continue to increase,” said Darrow. “We, as the charitable food system, will need to pick up the burden.”

Darrow’s nonprofit, Rooted In Inc. reduces food waste as a mechanism to feed our community

“As a nonprofit, we are focusing on aggregating surplus food. We focus specifically on nutritious foods, but, essentially, if anyone, restaurants, caterers, vending, sports facilities, have excess food, we will come and recover it,” Darrow said.

From there, she relies on her 35 year culinary career as a Chef to transform the ingredients into individually packaged meals that are directly donated to food pantries. 

Now, Darrow only hopes for the community to work together to support each other.

“I have the ability to make a big impact and fill these gaps. I have the ability to expand our surplus food recovery program, but I am one person,” said Darrow.

With the expected surge in guests, Darrow knows Rooted In Inc. will need more donations of food, money and volunteers than ever.

For more information on Rooted Inc. or Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, visit rootedininc.org or feedingamericawi.org.