SEATTLE — “My friends, many worry that another Great Depression is on the horizon. I am here to tell you: For many in our community, the next Great Depression is already here and about to get worse,” Seattle Auxiliary Bishop Frank R. Schuster said Nov. 3.
His words came at a press conference held by U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., at All Pilgrims Christian Church in Seattle. The topic of the gathering: Faith leaders for food security.
Jayapal invited various faith leaders to express their feelings on SNAP cuts detailed in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” and the Trump administration’s refusal to use emergency funds to fund the program amid the government shutdown, causing many of the 42 million Americans who rely on SNAP — the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — to find alternative ways to eat.
The administration — which had argued that it could not by law use the contingency funds for the program, despite previous precedent — said Nov. 3 that it would use the funds to partially fund SNAP after a federal judge in Rhode Island ordered it to. However, this could take up to several weeks or even months, said a top official at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
On Nov. 6, the same federal judge, Judge Jack McConnell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, ruled the administration must fully cover SNAP benefits in November.
“In the richest country in the world, there should be no hunger. Nobody should be hungry,” Jayapal said at the press conference. “And when there is hunger, as there is in America today, it is our moral obligation to feed the hungry.”
Demonstrating her commitment to the issue, Jayapal spent time before the press conference volunteering at the All Pilgrims Christian Church community lunch program, which provides hot meals to those who are hungry — just one of many programs run by a faith organization looking to do its part to help those affected by the cuts.
Local parishes, food banks and Catholic Community Services programs have been addressing this issue as well, seeking donations and volunteers to keep up with the demand as client numbers continue to rise.
In addition to Bishop Schuster, leaders from local Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities spoke at the conference, including the Rev. Greg Turk, pastor of All Pilgrims Church; Joyce del Rosario, executive director of Faith Action Network; Bishop Shelley Wee of the Northwest Washington Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Yasin Ahmed, Muslim chaplain at Seattle University and executive director of Wasat, a Seattle nonprofit; and Rabbi Ronit Tsadok, director of Project Kavod at Jewish Family Service.
“This is a human issue, not a red issue, not a blue issue, a human issue” Ahmed said. “The level to which we rise is the level to which we define our own humanity and our own path forward. This is not something that we can negotiate. This is something that we have to do.”
“Let us open our hearts and open our hands and give as much as we can with compassion and generosity,” Rabbi Tsadok said. “Our neighbors need us, and we need one another.”
Bishop Schuster expressed his gratitude to Jayapal for organizing the press conference, calling it a “gift” to be able to be surrounded by so many other local faith leaders.
He also noted the impact that federal and state funding cuts have had on Catholic Community Services’ programs and services, mentioning that the organization is taking hits from both governments.
“We demand that SNAP and other essential programs that support the common good be fully funded immediately and throughout the duration of the shutdown,” Bishop Schuster said. “We also plead that our lawmakers and the administration remember who you are called to serve.”
