SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
2025 was a tumultuous year for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, between changes enacted as part of President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act and then the government shutdown that interrupted benefits. As Rebecca Smith with member station KBIA in Columbia, Missouri, reports, these changes are having a disproportionate effect on one already vulnerable group, LGBTQ people.
REBECCA SMITH, BYLINE: Emilia Stauffer walks towards the back of the GLO Center in Springfield, Missouri, carrying a heavy box of canned vegetables to a small closet that's packed to the brim with boxes of shelf-stable foods, hygiene products and more.
EMILIA STAUFFER: So this is where everything gets stored.
SMITH: Stauffer is the community services specialist for the GLO Center, which supports the LGBTQ+ community throughout Southeast Missouri. In early 2025, the center recognized the rising need in their community for help accessing resources such as housing, health care and food.
STAUFFER: We have a population that is underemployed, underinsured, either not able or scared to access services.
SMITH: In a 2025 report, the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, which studies LGBTQ+ law and policy, reported that 2.1 million LGBTQ+ adults were enrolled in SNAP nationwide. But now, following the passage of Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill, which puts limits on the food assistance program, it could be harder for them to receive and retain benefits. Stauffer says for her clients, that's not a new challenge. Many don't seek out help due to fear of discrimination or the risk of violence.
STAUFFER: They're literally terrified. I know we're here to talk about food, but just even the idea of being flagged as trans is terrifying.
SMITH: People often have to present identification at food banks and pantries, which could inadvertently out transgender and gender-nonconforming people whose identities may not match the gender on their IDs. Plus many food pantries are tied to religious groups. One 2022 analysis, published in the BMC Public Health journal, found that more than 60% of U.S. food pantries were affiliated with faith-based groups.
STAUFFER: Not all faith organizations are the same, but when one has experienced religious trauma, it's easier to overgeneralize than to make that risk.
SMITH: Because of this, Stauffer meets with groups in the area to determine if they would be safe and welcoming for her clients, but she says it can still be hard for people to go into spaces that historically have been unwelcoming. Brad Sears agrees. He's one of the founders of the Williams Institute and studies food insecurity in the LGBTQ+ community. He says there's many reasons beyond just fear of discrimination that LGBTQ+ people are food insecure and less likely to use SNAP than their straight or cisgender peers, such as higher rates of poverty and less of a support system.
BRAD SEARS: And, you know, the vast majority of people overall and in the LGBT community who rely on SNAP are either disabled, or they're raising young children.
(CROSSTALK)
SMITH: Since March 2025, the GLO Center in Springfield has worked with at least 250 individuals and families. As Missouri implements SNAP changes, which reduces benefits for some and makes others ineligible altogether, the center has already seen a fourfold increase in need. Here's executive director Aaron Kitchens.
AARON KITCHENS: The queer community is - we're known for our resilience. And so we want to take action not just 'cause it's the right thing to do, but also because these are our friends and family. Like, this is our community.
SMITH: Kitchens says the center will continue to find ways to provide direct care to the LGBTQ+ community in the region. All folks have to do is call or drop by. For NPR News, I'm Rebecca Smith in Springfield, Missouri.
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