The families going hungry because of food stamp cuts

St. Mary’s Food Bank in Surprise, Ariz., drew hundreds of people picking up groceries on April 28.Jesse Rieser for NBC NewsUnaffordable AmericaThe families going hungry because of Trump’s food stamp cutsUnder President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” food stamp applicants are fighting to prove eligibility and facing questions about birthday gifts sent over Zelle. A crisis in Arizona offers a warning for America.ShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 11, 2026, 5:00 AM EDTBy Shannon PettypieceThis article is part of “Unaffordable America,” a series examining rising economic inequality in the U.S. and the policies that drive it. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.PHOENIX — The line outside a suburban office building was already 15 people long when Tiffany Hudson showed up with her 7-year-old son cradling his blanket. It was 7 a.m. At the front of the line was a woman hooked up to an oxygen tank who had arrived 90 minutes before the building opened.Like others there, Husdon had come to the Arizona Department of Economic Security office in Surprise, a Phoenix suburb, to find out why the food stamp benefits for her and her two children were cut off after the state began implementing new eligibility requirements under President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”“It’s been really hard. We’ve been going to food banks every week,” Hudson said. She’s a single mom who had received about $600 a month in food assistance to supplement her income as a part-time caretaker. Her benefits stopped without warning three months ago. “We’re eating less, we’re eating more frozen stuff.”Tiffany Hudson and son Jamie outside their apartment complex in Phoenix after spending the morning at a nearby government office trying to get their SNAP benefits restored.Jesse Rieser for NBC NewsHudson and her children have been swept up in a wave of new restrictions and bureaucratic hurdles that have begun to ripple across the country as a r...