WCMA Members Call on Federal Policymakers to Fund SNAP

MADISON, WI – Amid a weekslong federal government shutdown, members of the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA) today decried the looming lapse in funding for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and called on federal policymakers to take action to prevent a food security and economic crisis. Without immediate action, the program is set to run out of funding on November 1.

“The political impasse in Washington now threatens both the health of Americans and the strength of the nation’s economy,” said Rebekah Sweeney, WCMA’s Senior Director of Programs & Policy. “Forty-two million people rely on SNAP to feed their families. Dairy processors – and their partners in the food supply chain – rely on a stable consumer base to keep their businesses running. It’s time to stop the political games and fund SNAP now.”

SNAP provides food benefits worth approximately $8 billion each month to low-income families to supplement their grocery budgets. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the program, 79 percent of households participating in SNAP include at least one child, elderly adult, or person with a disability.

“SNAP is a lifeline for our most vulnerable neighbors, so they can afford the wholesome foods essential to their well-being, including dairy products. Without SNAP benefits, low-income families may be forced to buy cheaper, less nutritious foods. That’s bad for their health, and it’s bad for dairy businesses,” said Kim Heiman, President of WCMA and of Nasonville Dairy in Marshfield, Wisconsin.

“Feeding people is our core mission, and the prospect of anyone going hungry in this country should be deeply troubling to all of us. We need leaders to set politics aside to find a solution that meets the essential needs of our neighbors – and allows us to do what we do best,” said Jeff Gentine, First Vice President of WCMA and President and CEO of Masters Gallery Foods in Plymouth, Wisconsin.

Studies show that SNAP households spend a significant portion of their food aid on dairy products, with milk, cheese, and yogurt among the most frequently purchased items. Even a temporary freeze in program funding would shrink those retail sales, perhaps by hundreds of millions of dollars each month.

“When people aren’t able to feed their families, we all feel the impacts,” added Mark Nielsen, Vice President of Wapsie Valley Creamery in Independence, Iowa. “By helping low-income families purchase dairy products, SNAP ensures the continued flow of consumer dollars through grocery stores to processing plants and dairy farms. A lapse in SNAP funding will have a negative effect through the entire food supply chain: from the farm, to the milk hauler, to the processor, to the retailer, to the consumer.”

“Processors and farmers are intrinsically linked, and that’s especially true for cooperatives like ours. With milk prices dropping and production costs increasing in recent months, the last thing we need is another threat to our operations – and our ability to offer family-supporting jobs and meaningful economic contributions in rural communities,” said J.D. Greenwalt, General Manager of Westby Cooperative Creamery in Westby, Wisconsin.