By Brett Rowland | The Center Square | 10/31/2025

About 91% of veterans said they were concerned about losing access to food assistance because of the federal government shutdown, with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits set to run dry Nov. 1, according to a poll from Mission Roll Call.

“It’s unfortunate that every time Washington does this, veterans and service members are made collateral damage in these political fights,” Mission Roll Call CEO Jim Whaley, a 20-year Army veteran, told The Center Square. “Political brinksmanship here that is affecting a lot of our patriots, those who are serving currently, and those who have served in the past, and it’s unacceptable.”

SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, is a federal program that provides food benefits to low-income families to supplement grocery budgets. The U.S. Department of Agriculture won’t issue SNAP benefits until the government reopens. The agency said in a partisan message on its website that “the well has run dry.” However, two federal judges on Friday ordered the Trump administration to continue funding SNAP.

About 42 million people receive SNAP benefits, including veterans and active-duty service members. Some 1.2 million veterans live in households that participate in SNAP, according to a 2025 report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

It’s not clear how service members use SNAP, but past estimates provide some indications. A Department of Defense report from 2020, said the number was low. That report estimated the number of troops getting SNAP benefits ranged between 880 and 4,620, or less than 0.5% of the roughly 1.1 million U.S.-based service members. However, the USDA’s Economic Research Service found 25.3% of the military population reported experiencing food insecurity from 2018 to 2020. That figure was 10.1% in the demographically equivalent civilian adult population.

The latest survey from Mission Roll Call, a nonprofit veterans’ advocacy group, found that veterans and their families are worried.

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