Imagine completing a job training program, earning a promotion, and then having to turn it down because it means losing access to food for you and your family. That’s the reality for many individuals in our region.
Across Charlotte and throughout North Carolina, families face an impossible choice: advance in their career and lose essential benefits or stay in place to keep food on the table. With recent federal cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), that choice has become even more daunting.
SNAP is a vital bridge that helps low-income workers and their families meet their most basic need: food. That stability allows people to pursue training, education, or entry-level jobs without going hungry. It’s an important investment especially here in North Carolina, where employers are struggling to fill jobs and communities are working hard to connect residents with career opportunities.
The proposed rollback in SNAP funding puts tens of thousands of North Carolinians at greater risk of food insecurity. These cuts don’t encourage work. They send a message that getting ahead comes at the cost of a basic need.
At Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont, we see the fallout firsthand. We work with job seekers eager to advance and employers committed to supporting their workforce. But when a modest wage increase triggers the loss of benefits like SNAP, workers can end up worse off than before. That’s what we call the “benefits cliff,” and it’s one of the most persistent barriers to economic mobility.
The benefits cliff is not just a social issue; it’s a workforce development issue. Employers face higher turnover, lower productivity, and less engaged employees. Community-based training programs must work twice as hard to keep participants enrolled and progressing. And local economies lose out when workers are stuck in survival mode instead of growing into careers.
This cliff disproportionately affects people of color, single parents, and rural residents – communities that already face systemic barriers to wealth and opportunity – and we should be doing everything we can to close those gaps. Cutting SNAP does the opposite.
Fortunately, there are solutions. In 2024, our organization piloted a program using the CLIFF Dashboard tool developed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. This tool helps employers, policymakers, and workers understand how benefits change as income rises. It’s one of many strategies to build a better roadmap to upward mobility. But tools alone aren’t enough. We need policies that support workers all the way up the income ladder, including transitional benefits, expanded eligibility, and funding that reflects the real cost of living.
SNAP should be strengthened, not cut. If we’re serious about building a stronger workforce and a more resilient economy in North Carolina, we must ensure that no one has to choose between a job and a meal.
Congress needs to hear from us. Advocates, employers, and everyday North Carolinians must speak out against cuts that jeopardize the well-being of our neighbors and the strength of our workforce. Investing in employees means investing in supports like SNAP.
We have a responsibility to help our community see possibilities, seize opportunities, and prosper. It’s time to build bridges, not cliffs.
