As our organization recently sponsored several food drives to support Catholic Charities and Enduring Freedom Ministries it became very apparent that many people in our community struggle with food insecurity. This situation was further aggravated during the recent government shutdown where the Trump administration even refused to distribute SNAP benefits during the month of November. Unfortunately we often hear statistics about those in need and boogey-man stories of abuse rather than see our neighbors, the real people who are in need. I cannot imagine the stress and anxiety that people have to endure over the negative stigma.
We should keep in perspective what the U.S. government spends on SNAP benefits. According to reports the federal government spent about $100.3 billion on SNAP benefits in fiscal year 2024, which fed roughly 42 million people and equaled about 1.5 percent of total federal spending, according to USA Facts. Per the PEW Research Center, in May 2025, the national average monthly benefit was $188 per person and $350 per household. For a single person $188 a month equates to $6 per day. According to the Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation from 2023, of those who received SNAP benefits: 61.1% were white, 86.6% were US born, and 28.8% were children under the age of 14.
In terms of government budgets and spending I would like to turn your attention to a budget item that continually falls under the radar of scrutiny. On December 18, President Trump signed the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which authorizes $901 billion in defense programs in fiscal 2026. It passed the Senate on a 77-20 vote with two Republicans and 18 Democrats voting against the bill, including Illinois Senators Durbin and Duckworth.
After adjusting for inflation, defense spending has risen 62% since 1980, climbing from $506 billion to $820 billion by 2023. Since 2015 the United States has spent $8.521 trillion on defense. State Department Data on military expenditures from 2009 to 2019 shows that the U.S. has spent as much on its defense as the next 11 top-spending countries combined. In terms of the fiscal year 2025 budget of $895 billion, nearly 60% of that budget was for Operations and Maintenance ($355 billion) and Procurement ($167 billion).
To give you a perspective on the amount of money spent on weapons systems consider the F-35 multi-role stealth fighter. Per a GAO report from 2024 the F-35 has been plagued by mounting costs and delays resulting in an eventual price tag of more than $2 trillion over several decades. Across the military there are about 630 F-35s—with plans to buy about 1,800 more. The Air Force, Marines, and Navy each have their own versions of the F-35. Projected costs for sustaining the F-35s have continued to rise from $1.1 trillion in 2018 to $1.58 trillion 5 years later (a 44% increase). Why settle for 630 fighters when you can purchase 1,800 more?
The project is so expensive and over budget that the Air Force and Navy have reduced their projected annual flying times by 19% and 45% respectively in order to meet affordability targets. It should come as no surprise that there is so much interest in government spending on defense. The American taxpayer loses sight of the influence defense contractors have on our legislators and the military. According the website Open Secrets, in 2019 the top three defense contractors, Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, and Northrup-Grumman spent over $40 million on lobbying. I dare say that that amount of money has not been spent on lobbying for SNAP benefits.
Supreme Commander of Allied Forces during WWII, Dwight Eisenhower, said it best with the following: “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.” One would think that with this country’s large annual expenditures for defense it would get the same level of scrutiny as SNAP benefits, but it does not. I do not recall these expenditures receiving the same reporting or scrutiny that SNAP benefits received by the Republicans in their Big Beautiful Bill. As one reporter stated: “SNAP is loud in politics and comparatively small in dollars.”
It should go without saying that we should not have to rely on food pantries to feed the most vulnerable in our community. We as a nation need to reassess our priorities and do better.