‘How can we do more?’: Advocates, leaders warn of SNAP cuts affecting 737K Oregonians

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — On Wednesday, Multnomah County and Portland leaders urged the Trump administration to restore SNAP funding to prevent hunger and hardship. This comes as a government shutdown has put a pause on SNAP funding and other benefits.

The SNAP cuts are affecting 737,000 Oregonians, with further economic impacts for even those without benefits. This economic toll amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars, with significant losses in Multnomah County alone.

Volunteers are working around the clock at Portland’s St. Johns Food Share. Demand for emergency food items is up 40% from last year, serving about 2,000 people each month at the food bank. They expect that number to rise once SNAP payments, formerly food stamps, stop November 1.

“We’re scared that, you know, we are gonna exhaust every single resource that we have,” said St. Johns Food Share President Tiffany Slottke.

Community leaders and advocates fighting food insecurity are rushing to find solutions before hundreds of thousands of Oregonians go hungry

Slottke said when she and other volunteers see empty shelves, freezers and fridges, they ask, “How can we do more?”

In Oregon, more than 445,000 households or 737,000 participants rely on SNAP, receiving an average of $300 each month, totaling more than $140 million each month, according to the Oregon Department of Human Services, as of March of 2025.

Advocates warn that the $140 million would stop flowing into Oregon’s economy, hitting grocery stores, food retailers and local communities hard.

Multnomah County said for every SNAP dollar, it generates up to $1.80 in local economic activity.

The county said 136,000 people in Multnomah County alone depend on this federal food assistance, nearly one in five county residents.

Nearly two dozen Multnomah County and Portland leaders urged the Trump administration to release SNAP contingency funds, with signatures from community partners including the ACLU of Oregon, SEIU Oregon, Portland for All, and Worth Fighting for St. Johns.

Slottke is on the frontlines, battling to fill empty plates and knowing hunger pains are non-partisan.

“We do the best we can in offering what we have and supplementing, there is a good chance that you might leave empty-handed,” Slottke said.

Multnomah County Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards skipped the joint letter on Wednesday. However, she slammed the Trump administration separately, calling SNAP cuts “cruel” and warning of the disproportionate impact on East Portland families, an area historically underserved.