Special to the Times-Free Press
The Boston City Council unanimously passed a resolution led by Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata, Council President Ruthzee Louijeune, and Councilor Sharon Durkan condemning the Trump Administration’s unprecedented decision to end funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides food assistance to more than 42 million Americans, including 16 million children, 4 million people with disabilities, and 1 million veterans.
In Massachusetts alone, 1.1 million residents rely on SNAP to afford food, a lifeline that will be severed on November 1, 2025, when the administration’s decision to halt funding takes effect. The resolution denounces this act as policy violence, emphasizing that hunger is not a natural disaster but a deliberate and preventable choice made by those in power.
During the Council meeting, Councilor Coletta Zapata spoke passionately in defense of working families and those most at risk:
“I rise today in outrage and in solidarity with the 1.1 million Massachusetts residents, our neighbors, who are staring down hunger because of an unprecedented act of cruelty from the Trump administration,” said Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata. “These are working people, parents working two, sometimes three jobs; seniors on fixed incomes; people with disabilities; single parents trying to stretch every dollar. They are not failing, the system is failing them. This is a man-made crisis, and it is entirely preventable. I stand with food access organizations across Boston in calling on the federal government to act swiftly and deploy USDA contingency funds to close this gap and ensure families don’t go hungry.”
Councilor Coletta Zapata also underscored the need for immediate support for affected residents. She encouraged anyone experiencing food insecurity to contact Project Bread’s FoodSource Hotline (1-800-645-8333) for multilingual assistance and directed families to mass.gov/SNAPUpdates for updated guidance on available programs such as school meals, WIC, and the Healthy Incentives Program.
“Access to food is a basic human right, not a privilege. Ending SNAP benefits and imposing harsher restrictions will force families, seniors, veterans, and children to choose between food, medicine, and rent. This food crisis is preventable, and it is our moral duty to act. The federal government must immediately restore full funding to ensure no one in our city, our state, and our country goes hungry.” said Council President Ruthzee Louijeune.
“Freezing funding for SNAP is not just a policy failure, but a moral one. SNAP supports more than one in five Boston residents, most of whom are children, seniors, and people with disabilities. Its loss forces families to make impossible decisions, like choosing between groceries, medicine, or keeping the heat on. Our food banks and local partners are working tirelessly to fill the gap, but they cannot replace the $240 million a month in federal support. We need the federal administration to follow the precedent set during every other government shutdown by maintaining SNAP funding and ensuring that no one in our communities goes hungry,” said Councilor Sharon Durkan.
The resolution urges the U.S. Department of Agriculture to immediately deploy at least $5.8 billion in contingency funds to sustain uninterrupted SNAP benefits and prevent a national hunger catastrophe. It further highlights the hypocrisy of cutting vital food programs while maintaining tax breaks for billionaires and corporations who pay starvation wages for millions of American workers.
Resources Available for SNAP recipients
• Project Bread’s FoodSource Hotline: (1-800-645-8333); Hours Monday-Friday 8am-7pm, and Saturday, 10am-2pm
• Summer EATS / after-school meal sites via Project Bread
• City of Boston: Find Your Food Pantry: https://www.boston.gov/departments/food-justice/find-your-food-pantry
• Office of Food Justice phone number: (617) 635-3717
• Greater Boston Food Bank: https://www.gbfb.org/need-food/
• Neighborhood Food Access Collaborative’s Food Resource Guide
• Up-to-date food resources across Boston in multiple languages: vitalcxns.org/food
• YMCA Mobile Market: ymcaboston.org/mobilemarket
• 211HELPSteps
• Mass211’s online platform connects individuals to local resources for food, housing, childcare, transportation, and mental health across Massachusetts: mass211.org
• ABCD Boston Food Pantries: https://bostonabcd.org/service/food-accesscenters/
For additional information please contact the Office of Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata by phone at (617) 635-3200 or by email at [email protected].