Recent Article Expertly Conveys the Toll of Federal Cuts
The ‘disappearing safety net’ will harm people throughout the country.
August 4, 2025 | Read Time: 1 minute
To the Editor:
Alex Daniels’s recent article — “McDowell County, Birthplace of Food Stamps, Faces a Disappearing Safety Net” (July 21) — succinctly captured the heartbreaking toll of federal program cuts on McDowell County, W.V.
The crisis Daniels describes extends far beyond West Virginia — from Detroit to Phoenix, from tribal lands in Oklahoma to immigrant neighborhoods in California. Across the country, working families, older adults, and people with disabilities will feel the same pain. When grandparents lose their homes and people facing hunger can’t access food, it’s clear that basic human dignity is quickly eroding.
Many nonprofits are facing steep funding cuts and rising costs, and “don’t have a plan B,” as Daniels explains. As essential services vanish, families must make impossible choices between groceries, utilities, or medication. Older adults and people with disabilities will likely bear the heaviest burden.
Philanthropy must step up. Foundations can’t replace the government, but in moments like this, they also can’t remain on the sidelines. Organizations like SHED — which Daniels explains is operating with a $200,000 deficit while serving 94 families — need immediate support.
To help, foundations can increase donations; offer flexible operating grants; and invest in advocacy, narrative change, and cultural change that pushes the government to fulfill its role.
McDowell County’s story is America’s story. What we do next will speak volumes about who we are and who we want to be.
Janet Y. Spears, President and Chief Executive Officer
Anna Karrer Manley, Senior Director of Communications and Strategy
Metta Fund
