SNAP Payments are Essential

This letter to the editor, by John Gostovich, appeared in the Hudson Star Observer on November 13, 2025.

St. Croix County Republicans recently rallied for their own “No Kings” protest, saying there is no king but Jesus.

Meanwhile, using the excuse of their self-imposed federal government shutdown — which has since ended — Republicans in Washington D.C. planned to cut off food aid for 42 million Americans who are poor enough to qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — what we used to call food stamps and what Wisconsin now calls FoodShare.

The Republican administration said it would take away money needed to pay for food from about 690,000 people in Wisconsin, per The Leader-Telegram. About 60% of these Wisconsinites with household incomes too low to afford putting enough food on the table are in families with children; more than 36% are in families with disabled or elderly adults; and more than 45% are in working families.

With that, regarding St. Croix County, the Republican administration decided that for around 4,700 of our neighbors, they would take the help they have been getting each month to buy food for their families.

In contrast, during previous federal government shutdowns, under both Republican and Democratic administrations, SNAP benefits have always been continued using available funding sources.

And there were funding sources available for continuing SNAP benefits in the federal government shutdown, too, including about $5 billion in SNAP contingency reserves from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

On Halloween, when the president partied at Mar-a-Lago, federal judges ruled that the Republican administration could not legally proceed with its rotten trick of taking away food aid from poor Americans and the courts ordered the release of SNAP contingency reserves.

Perhaps this time the Republican administration will not again improperly defy lawful orders issued by our courts.

But what would Jesus do for the hungry young, old, disabled and working poor among us? What does the Bible say?

In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus directs us to care for the poor and needy, with food, clothing, housing and dignity.

Tell the Republicans running our federal government to do the same.

Call Senator Ron Johnson’s Washington DC office at 202-224-5323. Call Representative Tom Tiffany’s Wausau office at 715-298-9344.

Tell them to do as Jesus would and feed the poor.