Detroit business Pietrzyk Pierogi has dealt with a myriad of challenges in the past several years — bird flu, the COVID pandemic, a cream cheese shortage, even. This holiday season, founder Erika Pietrzyk was looking forward to selling more.
Instead, Pietrzyk said she’s expecting less revenue, thanks to a pause in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits due to the federal shutdown. The Trump administration has said it will authorize partial payments this month, in response to a pair of judges’ rulings which required it to keep the food aid program running.
Some Michigan businesses say they’re bracing for the impact.
“Every other turn, like every six months, there's a new catastrophe that the food industry specifically is having to deal with, and adding this on top of it is only making it harder,” Pietrzyk said.
More than 9,700 Michigan retailers accept SNAP benefits. In 2023, those retailers redeemed more than $3.6 billion in benefits.
Vic Veda, vice president of communications at the Michigan Retailers Association, said the percentage of revenue from SNAP benefits “varies drastically” between retailers and regions of the state.
Some retailers say the SNAP pause isn't likely to cut into revenue in the long run.
Store manager Jim Holinski of the Village Butcher Shoppe in Milford said his customer base is “not predicated on lower income or individuals that are struggling to make ends meet.”
Grocers will be most heavily hit by the pause in SNAP funding, Veda said. While SNAP beneficiaries might come into a grocery store for fresh apples, they typically leave with more, like toilet paper and toothpaste.
Kate Bauer, a University of Michigan nutrition professor, said every dollar invested into SNAP benefits generates up to $1.80 into the economy.
“So there are going to be ripple effects. If in the short term, our families don't get SNAP benefits, and in the long term when SNAP benefits are cut, we may see local food retailers closing down,” Bauer said.
The Ann Arbor’s Farmer Market has a program for marketgoers to receive fresh food through SNAP benefits. Marketgoers can also utilize Fair Food Network’s Double Up Food Bucks program, which matches SNAP dollars used to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables.
In wake of the federal shutdown, the Fair Food Network lifted the $20 daily earnings limit and 90-day expiration limit period. It also added a $40 voucher to Double Up cards.
The market has the highest rate of SNAP use of any farmers market in Washtenaw County, according to market manager Stefanie Stauffer. She said November was the fifth busiest month for vendor sales last year, thanks to Thanksgiving and the holiday season around the corner.
Pietrzyk said she knows the pause will likely hurt her expected sales, although she isn’t sure how much it’ll be yet. For some businesses, lower sales revenue might mean layoffs, or fewer additional hires for the holiday season, she said.
“So overall, whether it's the consumer or the business or the effects of how it hits both people, it's a negative response,” Pietrzyk said. “There's no positive in this outcome.”
Stauffer said the SNAP benefits assist local farmers in “staying viable.”
“So yes, we are certainly concerned. And we can hope for the best, but there's a lot of indicators that a lot of change has to happen to make sure that people will be able to get the benefits into the future.”
