Michigan Budget Director Visits Food Bank as State Weighs SNAP Funding Against Federal Cuts

Michigan State Budget Director Jen Flood joined state Sen. Sean McCann for a tour of Kalamazoo Loaves & Fishes Wednesday, where she heard first-hand how food banks are struggling to access federal SNAP benefits amid new federal regulations.

"We are seeing the federal government pass the tab to states on some really important programs like SNAP and Medicaid," Flood said during the visit. "We wanted to come here to see sort of the work on the front."

Staff at the food bank told Flood and McCann that families they serve are having a harder time accessing SNAP benefits due to new regulations from the federal "One Big Beautiful Bill" Act signed by President Trump. The food bank workers explained that despite the federal law, states are being forced to cover additional costs for program administration.

"We know that families are facing rising costs, and so in the Governor's final budget, we have investments to help make sure that people maintain access to healthcare, maintain access food," Flood said.

The governor's proposal totals $88.1 billion and includes more than $186 million in additional funds to administer SNAP, but also upwards of $780 million in Medicare funding.

"The action that Congress took last year blew an enormous hole in our budget and it also puts access to food and health care at risk for millions of Michiganders," Flood said.

On top of addressing federal pressures, the state faces a more than $1 billion decline in revenue this year. When asked if the State Budget Office was taking that into effect, Flood confirmed it is.

"We built our budget based on those projections," Flood said. "We'll get an update in May, but the Governor's committed to leaving our state's finances in better shape than she inherited them, so we will watch closely what happens and make sure that our spending leaves us in a good place."

The governor's proposal is just one piece of the budget process. Both chambers of the legislature will each put forth their own vision. Republicans, who control the state House, are already wary of new taxes sought by Whitmer and a $400 million draw from reserves, which they called non-starters.

"At the end of the day, we care about a lot of the same things," Flood said. "I've seen Speaker Matt Hall's comments about the governor's proposal, but he'll have an opportunity to put out his own budget and approach for solving the deficit that we're facing."

Another sticking point in the process is likely to be House Republicans' preference for cuts. Flood was asked if the Governor is open to cuts and said Whitmer has a strong record of fiscal responsibility.

"During her time in office, we've seen about a 4% growth in the state's general fund," Flood said, referring to budget increases over her tenure.

The budget process moves forward as the state approaches sine die, with both sides working to narrow the gap between their proposals while addressing the structural deficit that is projected to grow to $2.3 billion by July 2027.