As we close out Hunger Action Month this September, we want to highlight the impact of HR1, also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA), on refugee and immigrant communities.
While HR1 impacts all Americans, several key provisions specifically target refugees, asylees, and other new neighbors with sweeping changes to the U.S. immigration system and restricted access to services like Medicaid and SNAP for many refugees and immigrants.
Refugees and other humanitarian entrants will no longer be eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), significantly increasing food and economic insecurity for families. These provisions went into effect when the OBBA was signed into law on July 4, 2025, but federal guidelines allow up to four months for states to implement SNAP eligibility changes. Current SNAP recipients are likely to be impacted at their next recertification. NOTE: Lawful Permanent Residents as well as Cuban and Haitian entrants, are NOT impacted and will continue to be able to access SNAP if otherwise eligible. Undocumented immigrants have never been eligible for SNAP.
This comes at a time when the existing food bank infrastructure is already stretched, with the Central PA Food Bank noting that they have experienced a 44% increase in food insecurity over the past two years.
To lessen the negative impact of changes to SNAP for impacted refugee and immigrant clients, CWS Lancaster is launching a food pantry in our office. We are focused on providing culturally important food items in a safe and trusted location where families can make food choices that reflect their family’s needs. Our target launch date is November of this year with a goal to serve 100 individuals each week.
With your support, we can ensure families have enough to eat and feel safe and dignified accessing food resources during these challenging times. Although a new initiative for our office, programming for food security is deeply grounded in CWS history and values. Following our founding as a global organization in 1947, the CWS family mobilized more than 11 million pounds of food, clothing and medical supplies for war-torn Europe and Asia.
We’ll need your support to help staff and stock our food pantry — from volunteers helping families make food choices to financial and in-kind donations to provide culturally-relevant food. Please contact Rachel Helwig at rhelwig@cwsglobal.org if you are interested in supporting the food pantry efforts as a volunteer or by organizing a food donation drive. 