20,000 Pro-Life Christians in Virginia Urge Leaders to Protect SNAP Benefits & Food Assistance for 42 Million Americans

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Lynchburg, Virginia — October 28, 2025

Family Compassion announced today that more than 20,000 pro-life Christians in Virginia have joined its prayer urging elected officials to protect food assistance programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) from budget cuts and government shutdown-induced funding gaps.

For pro-life Christians, programs like SNAP are a vital part of protecting and nurturing young lives, helping ensure that no child has to worry about where their next meal will come from and that every child has the opportunity to grow up healthy and strong. 

Unfortunately, 42 million Americans who rely on SNAP risk missing their November benefits if the shutdown continues past October 31; and long-term budget proposals already threaten to slash SNAP funding by $186 billion over the next decade, potentially causing 22.3 million families to lose all or part of their benefits.

“As a Christian, I believe everyone I meet is created in the image of God. Every recipient of SNAP is an image bearer, beloved in the eyes of God. Every child supported by SNAP is a child invested with God-given potential to do good in the world we all live in. Making sure that child has enough to eat helps them become all that God has created them to be,” says Reverend Todd Blake, Executive Director, Park View Community Mission. 

“As someone who seeks to ground my identity in Jesus, as a pastor, and as someone who loves this country, I’m grateful that a portion of my tax dollars go to a cause so closely aligned with the way of Jesus as feeding my neighbor. SNAP recipients, many of whom are children, are counting on us to ensure they have enough to eat. And as the Executive Director of one of the largest food pantries in Virginia, let me assure people of faith that we can't meet the hunger needs of our neighbors without the scope and scale of SNAP.”

Federal nutrition programs provide roughly 10 times as much food assistance as private churches and charities combined. Without government programs like SNAP, our neighbors in need will go hungry. 

“SNAP is not a handout. It is daily bread— the very heart of how Jesus taught us to pray. It’s food in the fridge, a school lunch packed for a child, a grandmother choosing health instead of hunger,” explains Rev. Dr. Jarrett Banks of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). 

To increase public awareness about the crisis, Family Compassion is launching a nationwide billboard campaign highlighting the urgent need to protect SNAP benefits for millions of children and families and will be contributing a major donation to food banks to help sustain families in need across the country. 

Family Compassion is calling on Christians across the country to pray and speak out for families facing hunger during the shutdown. Christians are invited to sign on to join the national prayer. 

Our Prayer

As pro-life Christians, we know that every child is precious in God’s sight and worthy of the opportunity to grow up healthy and strong. That’s why we cannot allow a single child to go hungry in Virginia. We pray our leaders will do everything in their power to protect vital food assistance programs like SNAP from budget cuts, ensuring every child has the nourishment they need to thrive and fulfill their God-given potential.