Food Banks Launch Ad Buy Defending SNAP from Congressional Cuts
by Whitney Downard, Indiana Capital Chronicle
July 1, 2025
Nearly a dozen food banks serving portions of Indiana teamed up to launch an advertising campaign this week, urging Hoosiers to protect nutrition funding — including food benefits like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP — from congressional cuts.
Feeding Indiana’s Hungry targeted Indianapolis, Terre Haute and Evansville for digital advertising campaigns, as well as an outdoor advertisement in the 4th Congressional District, which includes parts of northwestern Indiana anchored by Lafayette.
The ads direct Hoosiers to contact their U.S. Senators and Representatives and ask them to vote against such “harmful” cuts.
“Hoosiers will continue to struggle feeding their families with the drastic cuts Congress is currently considering,” said Emily Bryant, the executive director of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry. “The nonprofit sector is already scrambling to meet the need — the lines at food pantries are getting longer by the day. We call on Congress to act now to save lives.”
Nutritional funding and other social services programs are at risk for congressional cuts in Washington D.C. this week as Congress grapples with President Donald Trumps “big, beautiful bill.” Under the proposal, states with higher error rates will pick up a portion of the tab, potentially billions of dollars for some large states.
The national association for SNAP retailers — largely convenience and grocery stores — shared an estimated cost for Indiana following changes in the U.S. Senate, putting that number at $261 million — an improvement over the previous version of the bill.
Congressional cuts would shift funding to an already strapped state budget, under which agencies saw 5% cuts earlier this year. A $2 billion predicted revenue drop over the next two years played a roll in ending a supplemental summertime meal program for children enrolled on nutritional programs like SNAP.
The current bill in Congress is projected to add $3.25 trillion to deficits during the next decade, according to the latest calculation from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, largely due to tax cuts. Republicans trimmed that number by curbing federal commitments for programs like Medicaid and SNAP.
A Monday night vote to strip SNAP language from the bill was narrowly defeated on a 49-51 vote after two Republican senators, both from Alaska, voted with Democrats. Both of Indiana’s senators voted to keep the cuts for SNAP.
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