What happens if SNAP stops?

1. Short-Term Effects of a Sudden SNAP Shutdown or Food Shortage

A full stop to SNAP isn’t just “people go hungry.” It would ripple through the entire economy fast:

Week 1–2

• Immediate panic at grocery stores – SNAP recipients (~42 million people) rush to buy whatever they can with remaining funds → shelves clear.
• Retail shock – Many chains rely on SNAP for 10–30% of revenue. Dollar stores, Walmart, ALDI, and inner-city grocers are hit hardest.
• Social stress begins – Schools, churches, and food pantries see instant surges. They are not stocked for this scale.

Week 3–6

• Food theft and store security spike – Not Hollywood riots yet, but high shrinkage, shoplifting, and confrontations.
• EBT-dependent families start bartering, borrowing, or skipping meals. Kids get hit first.
• Small groceries start closing – They run out of working capital because SNAP is cash-flow for them.

2–3 Months

• Urban centers destabilize fastest. Rural areas have more stored food & gardens; suburbs are stuck in the middle.
• Violence starts around food distribution sites.
  Not mass chaos everywhere—just predictable flashpoints: gas stations, Walmarts, city food banks.
• Government either restarts aid OR sends military food distribution. Historically, they pick option #2 first.

2. If There’s a Supply-Chain Famine (not just SNAP failure)

Even people with cash get hurt, because:

• Availability collapses before affordability.
  (You can have dollars, but there’s no food to buy.)
• Imports get locked up (ports, transport bottlenecks, export bans).
• Meat, dairy, and fresh produce disappear first.
  Shelf-stable food spikes in price or is rationed.

Think 2020 toilet paper panic—but multiply by food and drag it out for months.

3. What a Rational Person in the U.S. Should Do (Not Prepper Fantasy)

This isn't “buy 10 years of freeze-dried lasagna." The goal is 3–6 months of low-stress independence, not bunker cosplay.

✅ 1. Food: $250–$400 starter stack

• 25–50 lbs rice
• 25–50 lbs beans/lentils
• 10–20 lbs pasta
• Flour + salt + yeast (bread solves morale)
• Canned meat (tuna, chicken, spam), peanut butter, oats
• Cooking oil (critical—calories & nutrition)
• Multivitamins (malnutrition insurance)
• Coffee/tea/sugar (trade + morale)

This feeds one adult for 90–120+ days.

✅ 2. Water

If you're on city water: store 20–30 gallons.
If rural/well: have manual or backup power to pump.

✅ 3. Backup Cooking

If power is lost or gas is shut off:

• Single-burner butane stove + 8 cans ($30–$40)
• Or small propane camp stove
• Or charcoal + cheap grill

Cold food = low calories = hypothermia, illness.

✅ 4. Cash + small bills

Electronic payments fail early.
$400–$800 in 10s and 20s buys time and trades.

✅ 5. Neighborhood strategy

The people who survive hardest times don’t do it alone.
You don't need to love your neighbors—just not starve with them.

✅ 6. Real skills that matter

• Cooking from staples (rice + beans + spices = life)
• Basic first aid
• Knowing local food sources (farms, co-ops, pantries)
• How to stretch calories, not just store them