How SNAP Benefit Cuts are Impacting Students at Manor College

Policy changes took effect on September 1, and a SNAP freeze during the government shutdown began on November 1.

There are days when Mariselly Collet Rosa lies in her bed at the end of the day and realizes she didn’t eat. Not dinner, not a snack, not a piece of candy walking through the kitchen – nothing.

Working 60 hours per week at two different jobs while taking college classes as a single parent is a struggle. Even with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits totaling $320 per month, each dollar spent on food, groceries and household bills needs to be carefully planned out.

“SNAP isn’t just super helpful, it’s very necessary to me,” Collet Rosa said. “It helps me because I don’t have to put off a bill. I don’t have to decide whether to pay my rent or my electric bill each month.”

This month, Collet Rosa was among 42 million Americans and several Manor College students who faced further food insecurity when SNAP benefits were disrupted due to the government shutdown.

“There’s nothing you can really do to prepare for it,” Collet Rosa said. “You’re short on poultry, grains and rice. You can’t even overbuy because they’re raising prices. Without SNAP, we’re trying to figure out ways to buy the necessary things and make it last.”

‘I Want to Get Off Of It’

McKenya Tribble, a first-year Practical Nursing student at Manor College, has received benefits for most of her life. The 36-year-old Tribble received benefits as a child through her mother, then began receiving them herself when she had the first of three children at 19.

For the last 13 years, Tribble has faced housing insecurity. She first became homeless after separating from her husband at 23, staying at the homes of friends, relatives and shelters. Over the years, she saved enough money to afford her own apartment, but in 2023, she, her boyfriend and her three children lost their apartment after she was laid off.

“My boyfriend was working and helping with the rent, but he could only do so much,” Tribble said. “It just put us even further behind.”

Tribble’s housing insecurity still exists. As of early November, Tribble bounces between permanent and overflow shelters throughout the city of Philadelphia. She calls being on SNAP benefits, “a blessing and a curse.” On one hand, the benefits help her feed her family, but because the benefits have financial requirements, any job she takes requires her to make enough to be fully off of SNAP benefits.

“It feels like it limits what you can do,” Tribble said. “You have to work, but you can’t work too much. I want to get off of it, but it’s challenging at times.”

Finding Additional Help

Manor College's food pantry called the Bird Feed opened in 2017. — Manor College’s food pantry called the Bird Feed opened in 2017.

Insecurity with SNAP benefits first began on October 1 when United States lawmakers failed to approve a budget. On October 10, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) – which oversees SNAP benefits- announced that it did not have the money to pay $8 billion in food stamp benefits for November to nearly 42 million Americans receiving payments, according to CNN.

Federal food aid was not distributed for the month of November on November 1. Two days later, the USDA said they would provide enough funding for states to administer partial benefits. On November 6, a federal judge required the USDA to offer full benefit payments. That ruling was appealed by President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday, and a federal appeals court ruled in favor of full SNAP benefits on Monday.

Locally, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker allocated $7 million to “One Philly SNAP Support Plan” to support residents through food distribution, emergency rental assistance and supporting vulnerable families, according to WHYY. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro issued a disaster declaration last week that expedited the delivery of $5 million to food pantries across the Commonwealth.

In total, nearly 685,000 residents across Philadelphia and the surrounding area receive SNAP benefits, according to Pennsylvania Department of Human Services data.

The loss of SNAP benefits and rising food costs are seen at Manor College’s food pantry, the Bird Feed. The on-campus food pantry was an initiative launched by Manor’s Student Senate in 2017 after a survey revealed the need for such a resource. It is an extension of Manor College’s Student Aid and Food Emergency (SAFE) Fund, which offers students grants up to $500 to continue their education uninterrupted.

The food pantry receives hundreds of pounds of donated food each month. The pantry received 445 lbs of food from September to November 2025, a 15 percent increase from the 385 pounds donated in 2024. Despite the rise in donations, food needs in the pantry have only increased.

“Since the shutdown was announced, we’ve heard from a number of students who are concerned,” Allison Mootz, Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs, said. “We’ve already received SAFE Fund requests directly related to this.”

Additionally, an institution-led Thanksgiving program that offered holiday meals to students saw an increase in requests. In 2024, the drive received 28 separate requests for assistance for the month it was offered. This year, the institution received 21 requests in 12 hours of announcing the program and has exceeded last year’s total within a week.

“When I saw the number of requests we received in such a period of time, I realized that we had a much bigger need on our hands than ever,” Mootz said. “I want to do everything possible to get food to these students and their families.”

The institution is addressing food pantry shortage through several initiatives, including a Dress Down Day food drive for employees and a Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week drive from November 17-21, and the institution’s Founders Day Food Drive in January.

SUPPORT HERE: Purchase items for the Bird Feed through our Amazon WishList.

‘If You Can Reach Further, Then Reach Further’

Despite the food insecurity and tough challenges, Tribble and Collet Rosa have no plans to quit on their education.

Collet Rosa expects to graduate with her Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice in Spring 2026. She hopes to become a Supreme Court Justice one day, but her five-year plan is to become an attorney. She fits in her studies while cooking dinner or after her children go to bed.

Tribble, who is in the first year of Manor College’s Practical Nursing program, looks to go into health care and expects to graduate after the Fall 2026 semester. She tries to complete her coursework between classes at Manor, saying the lack of security and sleep in a shelter makes it tougher to concentrate.

In addition to prayer, both have found strength through numerous professors at Manor. Collet Rosa applied for an educational grant from Mary Sims, and received job offers from Professor Doruntina Ukella-Rukiqi. Tribble often prays with Professor Daniel Morrison, and cites Professor Regina Wright as the reason she chose Manor College.

“(Professor Wright) told me during the interview that, ‘your life is a testimony and you can help people. It’s not about what you learn, it’s about what you do with it and your experience,’ and at that moment, I knew Manor was the place for me,” Tribble said. “The fact that they took an interest in me meant something.”

Both students fight food and housing insecurity to stay in college because of the opportunity that education offers. Tribble recalled how her grandmother would say, “If you can reach further, then reach further.”

“I felt like something was missing because I didn’t finish college,” Tribble said. “I find most of my enjoyment in helping people, so I always wanted to come back to work in healthcare.”

Collet Rosa finds inspiration in her children. Some days, her oldest daughter realizes that Collet Rosa hasn’t eaten and offers her mother her own food. When that happens, Collet Rosa collects herself until she can find a safe place in the bathroom to release her emotions. It’s about making sure the generational challenges that she endured don’t get passed down.

“I try to stay positive because there’s people going through worse right now,” Collet Rosa said. “I want my kids to know that everything is going to be OK. We have a home. We have clothes. They don’t need to know that Mommy is struggling.”