About 300,000 Ukrainians currently in the USA under temporary protection status due to the events of 2022 will be without the ability to receive food assistance through the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) starting November 1.
The Executive Director of the NGO Hope For Ukraine, Yuriy Boychko, shared in Adam Klassfeld's podcast that Ukrainians began receiving notifications of denial of benefits due to their immigration status, despite their legal presence in the country.
'This was a real shock for our office and the community', Boychko emphasized.
The changes resulted from the Big Beautiful Bill concerning taxation and social spending, which, according to Boychko, hit the most vulnerable segments of the population. A family with six children earning a low salary will lose an average of $1,000 in food assistance each month. This could lead to a food crisis among Ukrainian refugees.
Although according to a report by the Congressional Budget Office, the reduction in spending on the program will have little impact on the federal budget overall, for individual families, this situation could have catastrophic consequences.
Boychko urged the public to pay attention to this issue and expressed hope that there would be politicians in the Senate who realize the consequences of this decision.
'Even with small program expenditures, their reduction could seriously harm communities in the future', he concluded.
Ukrainians in the USA are losing the ability to receive food assistance due to new laws that have taken away this benefit from them. Changes in legislation resulted from the Big Beautiful Bill, which could provoke serious problems for Ukrainian refugees, yet will have little impact on the overall federal budget.