Indiana food bank says ‘big, beautiful bill’ would be catastrophic for vulnerable Hoosiers

INDIANAPOLIS — The leader of Indiana’s largest food bank said the reconciliation bill, also known as the “big, beautiful bill,” currently making its way through Congress would have massive consequences for Hoosiers who use SNAP and Medicaid benefits.

The clock is ticking in Washington as Congress races to pass the bill by President Donald Trump’s preferred July 4 deadline. The bill includes massive tax cuts and, in order to offset the lost revenue, the bill also includes massive cuts to entitlement programs.

“This bill would cut healthcare access, cut food access in a way that I think would be catastrophic for not only the people that need those services but really society as a whole,” Gleaners CEO Fred Glass said.

Glass said cuts to programs like SNAP could make an already bad situation worse.

Gleaners said the bill, as it stands right now, would cut $214 million in SNPA benefits. The program is used by more than 600 thousand Hoosiers.

“People that are struggling to put food on the table, working Hoosiers, are going to have less food and be hungry,” Glass said.

Gleaners and other food banks are already struggling to meet the demand that exists now.

In 2024, Gleaners provided 53 million meals. Other food banks, including Gleaners, provided roughly 110 million meals. Glass said the cuts would be the equivalent to cutting 80 million meals, and therefore, nearly two more Gleaners would be needed to meet the demand.

He said it’s not a ‘them’ problem but an ‘us’ problem.

“People are going to go hungry and it’s well documented that when people go hungry, they don’t show up for work,” Glass said. “There’s absenteeism. They don’t finish school. Productivity goes down. Sadly, crime goes up.”

The bill also includes cuts to Medicaid, which provides health insurance for 1.8 million children and adults. Gleaners said the cuts have the potential to close 12 rural hospitals.

Glass hopes lawmakers consider the consequences of their potential actions.

“They convince themselves that these formulas are going to tighten up the system or whatever and that’s just not the case,” Glass said. “The people served by these programs are children, the elderly, the disabled and people working. Who are you gonna cut?”

The reconciliation bill is currently making its way through the Senate.

“We appreciate the important work that Gleaner’s Food Bank does to help Hoosiers and are aware of their letter,” a spokesperson for Senator Todd Young said. “The Senate continues to work on improvements to the bill.”

A request for comment to Senator Jim Banks’ office was not returned.