Oh SNAP! The Truth About California’s Welfare Agenda
The federal government is still shutdown, and this past weekend the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, was in danger of suspension. This sparked national outrage, with SNAP beneficiaries even threatening to steal if their benefits were not paid out to them. California is home to over 10% of the federal program’s recipients, making this a key issue in our state to understand and address.
But while we continue to hear the argument over and over that millions of Americans will starve without this program, we have to ask – is that really true, or is there more going on that we need to be aware of? Plus, what is the role of government when it comes to social welfare programs, and are Christians required to support the SNAP program out of compassion?
What is SNAP?
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is a federal nutrition assistance welfare program, known by most people as food stamps. It’s a program designed to help low-income individuals and families buy food. The U.S. Department of Agriculture administers the benefits to states, who manage enrollment, eligibility, verification and distribution – so it’s a federal program that coordinates with state governments. Anyone who is eligible to receive the benefits gets what is known as an EBT card, which stands for Electronic Benefits Transfer – which acts as a debit card. The amount each person or family receives is dependent on a variety of factors, like income, household size, and certain expenses. SNAP benefits are supposed to be used to buy groceries for home preparation – things like fruits and vegetables, meats, dairy, bread, and so on.[1]
The first version of this program was actually developed coming out of The Great Depression. Obviously during that time many families were facing dire circumstances – including literal starvation – and so the government asked how it could support farmers and the economy when people couldn’t afford to buy food, and how it could prevent American families from just dying off. President Roosevelt then created the Food Stamp Program that would allow the poorest families to buy surplus food from American farmers – a win-win for both parties involved. This developed over the years into the SNAP program – but the original intent was just to be a temporary safety net for families or individuals who hit hard times that would otherwise push them into extreme poverty and starvation.[2]
Today, there are roughly 41 to 42 million Americans participating in SNAP, which is a little over 12% of the population of the United States.[3] That is double what it was back in 1974 when the program was first nationwide – then only 6% of the population received SNAP benefits.[4] So, with the federal government shutdown in effect, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced last week that no new SNAP benefit allotments would be issued on November 1st.[5] This means that 42 million Americans reliant on the program would not receive money for the next period to buy food with.
This sparked national outrage. People were taking to social media saying that if they didn’t receive their benefits they were just going to start stealing bread,[6] others immediately blamed the Trump Administration and criticized his White House renovation projects while the SNAP program is running out of money,[7] and most people have been calling on our government to take action to ensure the program continues to be funded. Yet, at the same time, in recent days there has also been quite of bit of investigation into SNAP that has revealed some disturbing waste, fraud, and abuse in the program – including states allowing illegal immigrants to receive SNAP benefits which are funded fully by the taxpayer. And one of those states, to no one’s surprise, is our beloved California.
So, it is a confusing time! On one hand you have the claim that people will starve and die – which objectively is a horrible thing, and no one should want to see happen – but then you also have evidence being brought forward showing waste and fraud, and no one wants that either. How does this affect California specifically, and most importantly, what in the world are we to think about it?
SNAP in California
Well, even though this is a federal program – and a federal issue to solve – this affects California and Californians. About 5.38 million people in California receive SNAP benefits – or 13.6% of our state’s population, which is higher than the national average.[8] California alone accounts for roughly 10% of all SNAP recipients. So, a pause in program benefits would mean 13.6% of our population would lose access to the money they usually receive for food.
But beyond just the impact, California is also directly involved in this issue because it has taken steps to expand food-assistance benefits beyond the federal eligibility rules, particularly through the state-funded California Food Assistance Program (CFAP). CFAP was created to fill the gap for non-citizens/immigrants who are excluded from federal SNAP/CalFresh because of their immigration status. For CFAP expansion, applicants do not have to provide a Social Security Number if they don’t have one, and many of the work-requirements tied to the federal SNAP do not apply.[9] This means that certain illegal immigrants are able to obtain taxpayer-funded benefits even though the federal program itself requires citizenship for eligibility.
So, our state has residents dependent on the program, and it has a culture that has worked to expand the program beyond what the federal government requires and allow more and more people to be eligible for receiving benefits. This means that we need to examine what is going on the with the program and how we should think about it.
Some of the statements I’ve been hearing or reading across social media have sounded like, “poor people/children will starve,” or “funding this program shouldn’t be a partisan issue.” This sentiment especially isn’t surprising in California, where our state has, over the years, gradually become more and more of a welfare state. In 2022, between federal funding, state programs, and local benefits, spend close to $150 billion total on anti-poverty programs.[10] Yet, even with all this spending, California still came in first place for having the highest poverty rate and almost half of the homeless population across the nation. So, while it seems like welfare programs are the most compassionate option, and that something like funding SNAP wouldn’t be partisan, it actually begs more questions than just should we take care of the poor – questions like program effectiveness, monetary waste, and moral responsibility.
Reported Issues & Fraud
Just what are the issues at play?
First and foremost, with SNAP, it’s important to remember in context that this is a federal government program, only affected because of the prolonged government shutdown. The only reasons SNAP might not be funded in the future is because the government is currently shutdown, and not because politicians have advocated to overhaul the program. It will likely continue to be funded just like every other program when the government reopens.
But at the same time, we can’t and shouldn’t ignore the questions and the glaring problems the shutdown has caused to be uncovered about the SNAP program. Many have been investigating the program in light of its pending defunding, and the amount of fraud that has been exposed in the last few weeks is truly staggering.
In 2024, the federal government spent $99.8 billion on SNAP, averaging $187.20 a month per recipient. The states with the highest number of participants were in high-cost-of-living states like New York and – you guessed it – California.[11] But while the intention of the program is to be supplemental nutrition assistance, apparently recipients of SNAP benefits have been able to spend them on luxury items like caviar and lobster.[12] Additionally, benefits are rarely used for fresh food used in preparation of meals at home – which again, is the entire intention of the program – but instead is used on junk food, candy, pre-made desserts, sodas, and other non-essential food items.
It has been reported that cashiers have seen EBT cards with balances of over $10,000 on them for recipients to spend.[13] Oftentimes there are cases of beneficiaries purchasing groceries or other items using SNAP funds – which is taxpayer money – and then reselling it and pocketing the money.[14] Investigators even found 5,000 dead people who were still receiving SNAP benefits.[15] And, alongside all of that, for 2022, the USDA confirmed 1.5 million noncitizens who should have been ineligible were receiving SNAP benefits which totaled to $4.2 billion in payouts.[16] This is the direct result of states like California who have expanded the program so much and lowered the entrance requirements such that it has welcomed and enabled eligibility abuse.
So, overall, a lot of stories of waste, fraud, and abuse are coming to light because of the spotlight shining on the program. Which is not surprising, given that it is hard to believe that 41 million people in the United States would literally starve to death if not for this program. Clearly the program has taken on entirely different purposes over the decades than what it was doing in wake of the Great Depression. Even outside of the government shutdown, these problems need to be addressed.
Really, the outrage over this program and the call for its unequivocal funding just points us to our country’s, and our state’s, overall sentiment toward the role of government and general reliance on welfare programs. There seems to have been immediate entitlement – again with people literally threatening to just steal whatever they wanted from stores if they didn’t receive their benefits. But even outside of the egregious examples, average Americans seem to hold the belief that it is the government’s job to make sure that every person is fed and taken care of, and if you don’t support that belief, then you somehow don’t care about the poor.
My Response – Is SNAP Required for Christians?
So, as a Christian, or a conservative, how do we respond to this? Should we or shouldn’t we support the SNAP program, how do we love the poor and vulnerable while still exposing fraud, and are we violating the biblical commandment to feed the hungry if we ask questions about welfare programs? I want to break down a few thoughts for you so that you feel equipped to respond to this issue and know how to think about it from a biblical perspective.
To do that, I first need to make the point that we need honesty. Honesty is required in all facets of our response, or else we won’t get it right and we will have more questions than answers.
The first thing honesty demands is to adequately define and engage with the role of government. Is it the government’s job to give people access to coffee, snacks, sugar, etc.? Is the purpose of the government to keep people out of poverty at cost to the taxpayer? I would answer “no” to both questions, and let me explain why.
The Founders never intended for our government to guarantee comfort or financial security to its citizens, only freedom and justice. When government crosses into managing citizens’ daily welfare, it begins to treat adults like dependents rather than capable individuals. Poverty relief should be temporary, localized, and voluntary – which means it should be primarily rooted in community, churches, and civil society, not our systems of government. SNAP began as a temporary safety net, but it has become a lifestyle for so many who depend on it and feel entitled to it.
Plus, the program has expanded well beyond the essentials. Welfare programs like these are intended to literally keep people from starving, but an estimated three quarters of food stamp beneficiaries are considered obese, according to the Wall Street Journal.[17] Nearly 10% of SNAP benefits go just to soda and sugary beverages, not fresh food. Taxpayers are funding diabetes, obesity, and heart disease, especially in poor communities, who are the very people the program claims to protect. Grocery chains and processed food corporations lobby aggressively to keep sugar and junk food eligible because they profit from it. In effect, SNAP has become a corporate welfare program for unhealthy food brands and chains disguised as charity for the poor.
Let me be clear: there are legitimate circumstances wherein welfare is a good thing. A stay-at-home mom who loses her husband unexpectedly may rely on food stamps for a temporary length of time, and that type of support is extending a safety net to the most vulnerable groups in our society. But you cannot possibly argue that that is the case for all 41 million Americans enrolled in the SNAP program. These situations are much rarer and are overshadowed by overwhelming abuse of the system.
And so, the second thing honesty demands is that we face the abuse head on. Just ignoring the billions of dollars wasted on the program is fiscally irresponsible and hurts our economy and the taxpayer. Did you know that food stamps increase inflation? Food prices increase by 1% for every 12% increase in spending on food stamp programs like SNAP.[18] We have seen an over 150% increase due to the rise in food stamps, increasing inflation and hurting everyone else who still must pay the cost of living and buy their own groceries.[19] This shows us that we must take SNAP spending seriously. If it continues to increase, our costs of groceries will also increase. If it is increasing due to fraudulent eligibility or rampant abuse of the system, then we need to face that abuse head on and work to root it out of the program.
Additionally, ignoring the entitlement of many on social media is dangerous. We cannot ignore the type of dependent society that we have created by making people reliant on government handouts and support. It is a wakeup call for us to return to the calls for personal responsibility and financial education. It reveals to us the need for empowering people to work hard, contribute to society, and stand on their own two feet, apart from government.
At the end of the day, you can absolutely believe that certain circumstance warrant SNAP – like the rare tragedies or dire situations – and that other circumstances do not. We do not have to be all or nothing. Looking honestly at fraud and abuse and working to end it will strengthen the program and protect the vulnerable, not the opposite.
The third thing honesty demands is that we reject bad policies that hurt Americans.
We should not be using taxpayer or government funds to pay for the benefits of anyone who is here illegally, full stop. That is not a comment on illegal immigrants’ value as human beings, that is a simple reality about how a functioning government must operate. The role of government is to oversee the people within its jurisdiction and to work for the good of its citizens. Those who come here illegally do not get the same benefits or privileges as those who come here legally – in the exact same way that citizens who commit crimes are no longer afforded the same rights and privileges as citizens who do not.
If you murder someone, you suffer the consequences of those actions. When you commit a crime, you forfeit your freedom, you forfeit your right to a life in polite society, and you do so because you have proven to be a threat, and the government now must prioritize the safety of the majority over the desires of the few. To rightly bear the sword, as is the responsibility of government, it must execute justice against those who break the law.
It is the same principles with illegal immigrants. If you are here illegally, you have broken our laws, and you forfeit the rights and privileges that would be afforded to you if you were a citizen or if you became a permanent resident through the legal process. It doesn’t mean that you are less human or less deserving of food, safety, etc., it just means that the United States government cannot be responsible for every human being on the planet. Our government has a duty first and foremost to its own citizens, in the same way that a father has a duty first and foremost to his own children. It would not be loving or right for a father to take food from his child to give to other people’s children, and it is not right for the government to take from its citizens to give that money or those resources instead to those who have not chosen to abide by the same laws that they have.
The idea that we as the state of California tax our citizens at some of the highest rates across the country, as well as burden them with an insane cost of living, then turn around and give that money to illegal immigrants, is disordered and wrong. There should be no welfare benefits given to those who are not legal residents or citizens, period. This type of disorder leads to chaos and abuse. It does this by incentivizing more and more illegal immigration because people know that they can come here and obtain welfare benefits for life. It motivates people to break our country’s laws without recourse, and then to rely on the taxpayer without contributing to society.
And lastly, the fourth and final thing honesty demands is that we hold multiple principles in tension with one another at the same time, admitting there is no quick fix or one-sided answer. And this is where I want to address some of the arguments being made from a biblical perspective. Because Jesus does command for us to love the poor, right? So, what do we do about that regarding social welfare programs?
Well, we first read the Bible with discernment, and we read the whole Bible in its entirety and in its context. This means that the Bible says to feed the poor, but it also says that if you don’t work you don’t eat. Both principles are true at the same time, and both apply to our lives in different ways.
It also means that Jesus saying to feed the poor is a command given to individual Christians and to the church, not the government. So, churches and charities should be able, allowed, and supported to engage with their communities to help those in need. It does NOT mean that the government must then take money from its own citizens to give to those in need – that is compulsory giving on a governmental scale, and that is not at all what Jesus was speaking to.
Further, it means that on the individual level, if you are relying on welfare benefits so heavily that you believe you are entitled to them or deserve them and you blame others for not having them, that is not biblical, and that is not what we are called to enable as Christians who love the poor and serve the least of these. You actually make it harder for the church and for charities to serve those genuinely in dire need when you incentivize and allow blatant fraud and abuse of the system so much that we can no longer differentiate between the poor and the lazy.
All in all, the root of the issue is the idea of compassion. Many like to argue that social welfare is the most compassionate system, and that without it people will die. But remember, compassion does not require a lack of discernment or boundaries. Compassion must be informed by wisdom. It is not a lack of compassion to ask questions about how money is being used and why. It is actually more compassionate to assist people in a way that does require them to take individual responsibility for themselves and their families rather than making them fully dependent on yourself or your government.
So, as you continue to see information spreading about this program or that, or about how Republicans are so mean and don’t want to feed the poor, or that in California our welfare system is so much more inclusive and compassionate – just remember that real compassion requires truth, and truth demands so much more than the narrative being pushed by states like ours.
References:
[1] “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | Food and Nutrition Service,” n.d. https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program.
[2] “A Short History of SNAP | Food and Nutrition Service,” n.d. https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/history.
[3] “Percent of Population Receiving SNAP Benefits in Fiscal Year 2024 | Economic Research Service,” n.d. https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/chart-detail?chartId=55416.
[4] DeSilver, Drew. “What the Data Says About Food Stamps in the U.S.” Pew Research Center, April 24, 2025. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/07/19/what-the-data-says-about-food-stamps-in-the-u-s/#:~:text=The%20current%20food%20stamp%20program,13%25%20of%20the%20resident%20population.
[5] Ward, Jasper. “US Department of Agriculture Says No Food Aid Benefits Will Be Issued Next Month.” Reuters, October 26, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-department-agriculture-says-no-food-aid-benefits-will-be-issued-next-month-2025-10-26/.
[6] Frank Temple. “003 EBT V2,” October 28, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Zw1Tobk4H4.
[7] Olmsted, Edith. “Trump Brags About Hideous Bathroom Renovation in Middle of Shutdown.” The New Republic, October 31, 2025. https://newrepublic.com/post/202555/donald-trump-bathroom-kennedy-center-renovation-shutdown-snap.
[8] USAFacts. “How Many People Receive SNAP Benefits in California Every Month? | USAFacts,” n.d. https://usafacts.org/answers/how-many-people-receive-snap-benefits-in-the-us-every-month/state/california/.
[9] “Who Is Eligible?,” n.d. https://www.cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/cdss-programs/calfresh/cfap/who-is-eligible.
[10] Tanner, Michael. “A Common Sense Fix for California’s Welfare System.” Cato Institute, April 18, 2022. https://www.cato.org/commentary/common-sense-fix-californias-welfare-system.
[11] Guzman, Alyssa. “Taxpayers’ Fury as Luxury Goods Like $145 Caviar, $50 Olive Oil and Lobster Available Through SNAP.” Mail Online, November 1, 2025. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15247087/luxury-foods-caviar-lobster-snap-benefits.html.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Walsh, Matt. “The EBT Program Is a Massive Scam, and the Government Shutdown Just Proved It,” October 28, 2025. https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-ebt-program-is-a-massive-scam-and-the-government-shutdown-just-proved-it?author=Matt+Walsh&category=News&elementPosition=12&row=0&rowType=Vertical+List&title=The+EBT+Program+Is+A+Massive+Scam%2C+And+The+Government+Shutdown+Just+Proved+It.
[14] “EBT Story: Very common in Hawaii.” X, October 28, 2025. https://x.com/shipwreckedcrew/status/1983223821604966587.
[15] Macias, Amanda. “Trump Administration Cites Widespread Misuse of SNAP as Funding Lapses During Shutdown.” Fox News, November 3, 2025. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-administration-cites-widespread-misuse-snap-funding-lapses-during-shutdown.
[16] Lonergan, Brian. “Shutdown Reveals Illegal SNAP Scam.” Federation for American Immigration Reform, October 30, 2025. https://www.fairus.org/opinion/shutdown-reveals-illegal-snap-scam.
[17] Finley, Allysia. “Do Food Stamps Make People Fat?” The Wall Street Journal, April 20, 2025. https://www.wsj.com/opinion/do-food-stamps-make-people-fat-why-does-washington-subsidize-soda-and-candy-4d29659f?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqf9M-dHq1KxNxYg2R3rBtTfRzhDXrxuROSMQy3inDPuj_R5GWLSCZxazNO0wfA%3D&gaa_ts=69016d5f&gaa_sig=3m34s8qxfaT1rrz3S9qsK1YT5Q7s9NSWqVFlMhWSRcBIx5iqK27Kj4Grph_Nord1e6MdtldEOcVw7Sx3QmyCcg%3D%3D.
[18] Talgo, Chris. “Oh, SNAP: Is Biden’s Food Stamp Expansion Inflating Grocery Prices?” The Hill, September 1, 2023. https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/4176869-oh-snap-is-bidens-food-stamp-expansion-inflating-grocery-prices/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CResearchers%20at%20the%20World%20Bank,pandemic%2Drelated%20emergency%20allotments%20expired.
[19] Walsh, “The EBT Program Is a Massive Scam, and the Government Shutdown Just Proved It.”
