Posted on 10/30/2025 10:38:36 AM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
“We would not eat.”
That is how disabled U.S. Navy veteran Juan Saro described a life without the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP…About 1.2 million veterans are enrolled now, according to the National Council on Aging. More than 20,000 military families, 213,000 National Guard and Reserve members, and more than 1 million veterans, rely on such benefits, according to Veteran.com.
Saro survived a brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from his time in the Navy. He later worked as a sixth-grade teacher. But COVID-related health problems made it impossible to stay in the classroom.
The veteran now lives on fixed disability payments from the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA). By mid-month, the money runs out. Food runs out. SNAP becomes the difference between dinner and nothing at all.
“SNAP is everything,” Saro told Military.com. “Without SNAP, we would go hungry. We would not eat. We would not have food on the table. The boys would not have what they need.”
Saro said he once opened his refrigerator and saw one onion. He tried to stretch food for as long as possible.
Experts say that many veterans who qualify never apply, even though age, disability and fixed incomes put them at higher risks for hunger.
“I try not to let them see the struggle," Saro said. "They lost their mother. I want them to focus on school. I want their lives to feel normal.”
(Excerpt) Read more at military.com ...
Military members should be paid sufficiently to purchase food. SNAP should be scaled way, way, way back.
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