STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
People who rely on SNAP benefits include Brandy Monovic (ph).
BRANDY MONOVIC: I've cut down eating three meals a day to eating one meal a day.
INSKEEP: She is a single mom in Colorado. And here's what one meal a day does to her.
MONOVIC: I don't have as much energy. I'm tired. I'm hungry a lot. I drink water to try to help with the hunger pain.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Two of her three children have autism. One has chronic seizures and migraines.
MONOVIC: My oldest, he just keeps on saying, I don't understand why I can't eat. And then my middle child, it's causing her to have more migraines. And then my youngest, she's just more, like, agitated, keeps on crying.
MARTIN: So she's looking for other ways to feed her family.
MONOVIC: I've been trying to find a job, which can be hard with me having three disabled kids, trying to find care for them.
INSKEEP: Another SNAP recipient, Susan (ph), from Buffalo, New York, receives disability assistance, as well as those benefits. She did not want us to use her full name because she doesn't want people to know she relies on the benefits.
SUSAN: I'm afraid it's going to kill me. I have other medical conditions that will be affected by poor nutrition. And, you know, I still have things to offer. I'm not ready to die for political reasons.
MARTIN: Susan is organizing contributions on social media to help support her fellow senior living residents. But she says she knows those resources are limited.
SUSAN: That's supposed to be what our government is for, to promote the general welfare. And that means everybody, whether they're on one side or the other of the political aisle. This is supposed to be for taking care of people.
INSKEEP: Some SNAP recipients on this Monday. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.