Mayors: Cities Are Doing All They Can, But Washington Must Act to Feed American Families

New survey of 105 cities finds 96% reporting very severe or severe impacts from SNAP lapse. Mayors say local efforts can't replace federal food assistance and call for benefit restoration.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - From coast to coast, America's mayors are warning that the Nov. 1 lapse of SNAP food benefits is already hitting home. In a new survey of 105 cities representing 32 states and Washington, DC, local leaders described mounting strain on families and communities - and issued an urgent call for Washington to restore food assistance funding and end the shutdown before the damage deepens.

In the survey conducted Oct. 29-31 by the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM), 96% of responding mayors said that a disruption in SNAP benefits will have a very significant or significant impact on their residents. Beyond individual hardship, they identified the economic impacts their city would experience from a SNAP disruption, with all but one city (99%) identifying increased pressure on local aid organizations, and 91% expecting decreased spending at local grocery stores and small businesses.

"Local leaders are doing what we always do - meeting people where they are and finding ways to help - but cities can't fill the gap left when federal food assistance stops," said USCM President David Holt, Mayor of Oklahoma City. "The scale of the challenge is far beyond what local governments can solve on their own. It's time for Washington to do its job, put politics aside, and put American families first."

The USCM sent the survey last Wednesday to the 100 mayors who serve in the organization's leadership to determine how the lapse in SNAP benefits would impact their cities and residents. Demonstrating how concerned mayors are about the disruption, word of the survey spread, prompting an additional 31 cities to submit responses. As a result, 105 cities submitted responses by Friday evening and are included in this survey.

The cities identified up to three community systems or services they anticipate will experience the greatest strain due to the SNAP benefits disruption. Food banks and emergency pantries were listed most frequently, by 96% of the cities; local nonprofits or faith-based programs were listed by 79%; senior meal delivery and programs were listed by 36%; and local health and human services agencies by one-fourth of the cities.

Mayors also were given the opportunity to share individual messages they wanted to convey to Congress and the Administration about the impacts of the SNAP benefits disruption on their communities. Many highlighted how their residents - particularly the most vulnerable, including children and seniors - would be harmed; the inability of local governments and service providers to meet the need, and the disruption's impact on local economies. They also called on Congress and the Administration to restore SNAP benefits and end the shut down right away.

Snapshots of cities' responses include:

Montgomery, AL: The City of Montgomery demands that you stop using food security as a political hostage. The lapse of SNAP benefits starting this Saturday, November 1st, is not an inconvenience; it is a manufactured humanitarian crisis directly impacting 53,600 of our most vulnerable residents, including thousands of children.

Phoenix, AZ: Phoenix's most vulnerable residents will suffer greatly if SNAP benefits lapse. As many as 400,000 people in our city alone are set to lose their benefits. That's about 1 in 4 Phoenix residents. These are our friends and neighbors. Seniors will go hungry. Families will go hungry. Children will go hungry.

Fontana, CA: End this shutdown and put our citizens first!

Petaluma, CA: Food security benefits us all at every level of government. Don't allow politics to risk a fundamental human right.

Hartford, CT: Right here in Hartford, the capital city, tens of thousands of residents stand to lose their essential food benefits starting November 1st. This is not a national statistic, these are our neighbors, our co-workers, our kids' classmates. This crisis is not an accident of nature. It is the result of political infighting and a failure of leadership in Washington. They are weaponizing the basic human need for food to score political points.

Jacksonville, FL: If SNAP benefits lapse, the impact on our community would be immediate and devastating. Families who are already struggling to make ends meet would face hunger within days, not weeks. Our food banks, churches, and nonprofits are already operating at capacity. There is simply no safety net large enough to absorb this kind of loss.

Boise, ID: Cities, faith leaders, and nonprofits have a limited ability to support local hunger needs if SNAP benefits lapse for longer than a few days. The need is too immense, and we need our federal partners to release the emergency funds as soon as possible.

Louisville, KY: If SNAP benefits lapse due to the shutdown, the impact on Louisville would be immediate and severe. Thousands of families, seniors, and children would face empty refrigerators and impossible choices between food and other basic needs. Local government and community partners are already stretched thin, and they cannot feasibly fill the gap that a federal lapse would create. …We urge Congress and the Administration to act swiftly to keep SNAP funded and ensure that no family in Louisville, or anywhere in America, goes hungry because of political gridlock.

Dearborn, MI: Losing SNAP means children going to school hungry, seniors skipping meals, and parents forced into impossible tradeoffs between food, medication, and utilities. Beyond the moral failure, a lapse would also destabilize local economies. Grocers, corner stores, and working-class residents who depend on SNAP dollars will feel the strain.

Farmington Hills, MI: This is not only a hunger issue, it is a matter of public safety. Because of this, we can expect increases in crime - putting strain on police resources. This is also a health crisis because we have documented situations of people halving or foregoing their medication because of expense and the need to feed the family.

Plainfield, NJ: If SNAP benefits lapse, the human cost will be immediate and visible. In communities like ours, where working families already stretch every dollar, the loss of food assistance doesn't just mean empty refrigerators, it means parents skipping meals so their children can eat, seniors choosing between medicine and groceries, and a surge in demand that our local food pantries and nonprofits simply cannot absorb. When Washington goes silent, city governments like ours become the first and last line of defense. We will do what we can, but we cannot replace the federal safety net that millions depend on to survive.

Albuquerque, NM: I urge Congress and the Administration to understand that federal food assistance is not a partisan issue; it's a matter of dignity, health, and basic human need. When the federal government fails to deliver on that promise, cities like Albuquerque are forced to fill the gap with limited local resources. We will continue to stand with our community, partnering with food banks, schools, churches, and nonprofits to make sure no one goes hungry, but this crisis should never have been passed down to cities to solve. Congress must act immediately to restore and protect SNAP benefits so that families can focus on living, learning, and working- not wondering where their next meal will come from.

Albany, NY: Failure to fund SNAP is inhumane, inexcusable, and completely avoidable.

Cleveland, OH: This lapse will be detrimental to our residents-both those enrolled in SNAP and those not. Food retailers, including local grocery stores and farmers markets, will lose a revenue stream, making an already precarious economic landscape more difficult. While the City and our partners at the County are prepared to invest in our local food assistance organizations, it cannot match the economic power of SNAP.

Lima, OH: To our leaders in Washington, every day this shutdown continues, families in Lima face impossible choices' gas or groceries, rent or medicine. Any suspension of SNAP will push more parents to food lines and force schools and nonprofits to shoulder costs they cannot sustain. Local governments can triage, but we cannot replace the federal safety net.

Beaverton, OR: As a veteran, I know firsthand how many of our service members and veterans rely on SNAP to feed their families; nearly one in four experience food insecurity. A lapse would deepen hardship for them and for working parents, seniors, and kids across Beaverton. I urge Congress and the Administration to take immediate action to protect these essential benefits. Cities like mine are already stretched thin; we cannot backfill a federal safety net.

Scranton, PA: Washington politicians are failing us right now, and Mayors don't have failure as an option. We get to work no matter what the crisis is, and politicians in Washington seem to just think they can play games. Mayors will work with their communities and get ideas from each other to keep food on the tables in our cities, despite inaction in DC.

Providence, RI: A purely political action is going to have real consequences in the kitchens across Providence, and it could have devastating impacts. While the City will do our part to make sure the needs of our community members are met, we need Congressional leadership to take action.

Columbia, SC: Many families in Columbia already worry about putting dinner on the table every night, and it's a failure of Washington when that certainty is yanked away from our working families. While we appreciate our South Carolina Governor activating local relief and we are doing what we can to convene on the community level, the only thing that fixes this is Congress opening the doors and making sure those benefits get delivered by ending the shutdown.

Late last month, USCM CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran and Allentown (PA) Mayor Matt Tuerk, Chair of the Conference's Children, Health, and Human Services Committee, sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on behalf of the Conference urging USDA to take steps to prevent a SNAP benefits disruption.

The survey was conducted from October 29, 2025, to October 31, 2025, by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. In total, 105 cities from 32 states and Washington, DC responded. The full results of the survey can be found here.