Just over a year ago, Ryan Sprankle hosted President Donald Trump at one of his family's three grocery stores outside Pittsburgh. Trump was on the campaign trail and they discussed the elevated cost of groceries, with The Republican candidate selecting a bag of popcorn.
TL;DR
- Supermarket owner Ryan Sprankle calls government SNAP benefit delays "inhumane" for vulnerable citizens.
- The SNAP funding halt negatively impacts small businesses, affecting employees and local economies.
- Retailers like Sprankle's and Forty Acres Fresh Market rely heavily on SNAP benefits for revenue.
- Nonprofits like Kanbe's Markets and convenience stores in food deserts also face increased demand and reduced sales.
Nowadays, Sprankle would convey a distinct message should Trump or any legislators tour his establishment. He aims for them to grasp how delays in SNAP benefits throughout the government shutdown negatively impacted his clientele and his modest, privately-owned retail network.
“You can’t take away from the most needy people in the country. It’s inhumane,” Sprankle said. “It’s a lack of empathy and it’s on all their hands.
The Trump administration froze funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program at the end of October, impacting food access for some 42 million Americans. On Monday, the U.S. Senate passed legislation that would reopen the federal government and replenish SNAP funds, but the U.S. House of Representatives still must consider the bill. It’s unclear when SNAP payments might resume if the government reopens.
USDA data shows SNAP recipients used over $96 billion in benefits in 2024, with the department administers the program. Superstores and supermarkets accounted for most of this spending, at 74%, encompassing large retailers such as Walmart and Kroger, alongside smaller establishments like Sprankle’s.
Approximately 14% was allocated to smaller grocery and convenience outlets, establishments frequently situated within local communities and more readily available to SNAP beneficiaries.
A stalled economic engine
Etharin Cousin, who previously directed the UN's World Food Program and established the Food Systems for The Future nonprofit, stated that the suspension of SNAP benefits instantly affected grocery and convenience stores, regardless of their size, as most of these businesses function with narrow profit margins ranging from 1% to 2%.
“SNAP isn’t just a social safety net for families. It’s also a local economic engine,” Cousin said. “SNAP benefits flow directly into neighborhoods, stores, regional distributors and community jobs.”
Walmart offered no statement regarding the effect of the SNAP funding halt, though it did mention its ongoing efforts to reduce prices and contribute to local food pantries. Kroger likewise refused to provide a comment.
Shoppers not receiving their food benefits affects all retailers but becomes “a big problem more quickly” at small chains, Sprankle said. His Kittanning, Pennsylvania, store gets 25% of its revenue from SNAP, but customers who don’t get government assistance also are worried about the shutdown, according to Sprankle. They’re spending less, trading down to cheaper goods or heading to food banks, he said.
Sprankle said lower sales cut into the overtime he can offer to the chain’s 140 employees. Many are worried about losing their jobs, he said.
“They have families to feed, they have kids for buy gifts for,” he said. “If I have to sell my truck, we’re going to give Christmas bonuses.”
Liz Abunaw, who owns and runs Forty Acres Fresh Market in Chicago, recently observed a shopper returning an entire cart of groceries because they were unable to pay for them without SNAP benefits.
Abunaw launched the supermarket in September, following years of selling produce at temporary markets and through delivery services. She stated that currently, only approximately 12% of Abunaw’s income is derived from SNAP benefits. However, she explained that without this support, or if SNAP recipients reduce their spending at her store, it would impede Forty Acres' expansion and complicate her ability to compensate employees, vendors, and farmers who rely on her.
“SNAP is currency. I get money I then use in this economy. It’s not a food box,” Abunaw said. “The economic impact of SNAP is larger than the dollars spent.”
From neighborhood shops to food pantries
The suspended food aid also had an immediate impact on Kanbe’s Markets, a nonprofit that stocks produce in coolers at 110 convenience stores around Kansas City, Missouri. Kanbe’s distributes a mixture of donated food and food purchased from wholesalers to keep prices low, founder and CEO Maxfield Kaniger said.
Kanbe’s also distributes free food to 50 food pantries and soup kitchens around the city.
Kaniger said some of the convenience stores he works with saw their sales drop 10% in the days after Nov. 1, when SNAP benefits weren’t paid. At the same time, the food pantries he supplies asked for double or triple their usual orders.
Because it’s giving away more food than usual, Kanbe’s has to spend more buying produce for the coolers it stocks. It’s frustrating for Kaniger, who must make decisions quickly before food spoils.
“It should be enough that people are going without food. Period, end of sentence. People going without food is wrong,” he said.
Babir Sultan sells berries, lemons, potatoes, bananas and other produce from Kanbe’s at his four FavTrip convenience stores in the Kansas City area. His stores are in food deserts, far from other groceries or big retailers, he said, so it’s important to him to stock fresh produce for those neighborhoods.
Sultan said foot traffic at his stores fell 8% to 10% in early November after SNAP funding ceased. He decided to offer $10 of free produce to SNAP beneficiaries but said he’s also happy to help out other customers who might be struggling right now.
“If you’re in need, just ask, we’ll take care of you,” Sultan said. “Everybody is affected whenever the customer is feeling the pinch.”
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Durbin reported from Detroit. Associated Press data journalist Kasturi Pananjady in Philadelphia contributed to this report.