Demonstrators from Indivisible Blair County were standing up for the thousands of people in our region that rely on the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP).

“These are working people,” Frances Hugg, one of the protestors, said. “They are not people just lying around and expecting the tax payers to support them.”

“Forty-five percent of the recipients are children,” Janice Kavanah, another protestor, said. “In this country we have 16 million children that go hungry at some point in the year.”

The protestors are hoping to stop budget cuts to the food assistance program.

The Trump Administration proposed a 25% cut to SNAP over the next decade. That’s a total of $193 billion over ten years is being threatened.

“It’s a very important issue,” Woody Pyeatt, who was at the rally, said. “It’s not a partisan issue. This is not about Republican or Democrat, this is about feeding hungry people.”

Pyeatt works at a local food pantry. He told us if this program gets less funding they won’t be able to pick up the slack.

“We can’t add that much more food to what we’re giving away,” he said. “Snap is important.”

As people drove by, voices were being heard, but their hope is to make sure no one goes hungry.

“Anybody can become unemployed and once you’re unemployed you’re in a position where you just might need SNAP,” Hugg said.

The SNAP program helps low-income families afford nutritional meals. It’s the nation’s largest program that targets hunger, providing assistance to families with young children, senior citizens and people with disabilities.