Q&A: District 5 candidates discuss SNAP work requirements, strain at food banks
A federal program that has undergone comprehensive transformation under the Trump administration is also one that low-income populations rely on - the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more commonly known as SNAP.
One of the direct impacts of the federal changes is a growing strain on food banks and pantries.
The 12 candidates running for Washington's 5th Congressional District in the 2026 primary election recently shared their views with the Union-Bulletin in response to the following questions: Do you support the work requirements put in place for SNAP eligibility? Why or why not? If elected, do you have any plans to assist food banks in need?
According to the research institute Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, SNAP enrollment dropped by almost 32,000 participants in Washington between February 2025 and February 2026.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates the GOP megabill will cut federal spending on SNAP by about $187 billion over 10 years through 2034.
The number of households receiving food benefits in Walla Walla County through SNAP and a parallel food assistance program run by Washington state has dropped by 160 over the past year, according to data shared by the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services.
State and local experts have linked the decrease to a number of federal actions, including the lingering effects of the government shutdown, growing fear among immigrants, the implementation of stricter work requirements and cuts to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
H.R. 1 mandated that most SNAP recipients work, volunteer or participate in job training for at least 80 hours a month. This includes previously exempt adults with children ages 14 to 17, people experiencing homelessness, veterans and people 24 and younger who aged out of foster care. For able-bodied adults without dependents, the work requirement age threshold increased from 54 to 64. These changes went into effect this year.
As fewer people receive assistance, increasing numbers are turning to food banks, leaving those centers in the difficult position of distributing more food than they are receiving.
Since September 2025, the Blue Mountain Action Council food bank in Walla Walla and the pantries it supplies have seen a 7% increase in visits and a roughly 55% decline in food shipments since May 2025.
Here's where congressional candidates stand on SNAP changes.
Michael Baumgartner
Baumgartner said he supports the work requirements because "we're a country that's deeply in debt and we cannot just afford business as usual."
He called the requirements "pretty modest" and "common-sense reform."
"If people are able-bodied, they should be out working in order to get federal benefits," he said.
Food banks, he said, should be supported, "but the underlying policies should be sound and something the American government can afford."
Carmela Conroy
Conroy said she opposes the requirements because they will make many people food insecure simply because they are unable to keep up with the paperwork.
"It has nothing to do with disability, it has everything to do with whether or not they have the time and the access to broadband, a printer, and the ability to travel to register this paperwork if they don't have access to broadband or a computer," she said.
The United States, she said, has the biggest economy in the world, and it is shameful to make its residents go hungry.
"I think it is particularly damning that veterans who cannot keep up with paperwork and work requirements are also going to be cut off from access to SNAP benefits," she said.
Consistent purchases through SNAP help keep people from falling through the social safety net and also provide an important market for farmers, she added.
"It is cruel and it does nothing to save the public purse," she said, referring to the requirements.
Kyle Usrey
Usrey called the SNAP changes "atrocious" because they place an extra burden on people "who are most in need."
"It's an indication of Trump trying to punish people who are working poor or disabled and need help," he said.
States with similar political leanings, such as Washington and Oregon, he said, should form a coalition to find solutions to problems such as SNAP and Medicaid cuts.
"I would look to develop those relationships," he said.
Ann Marie Danimus
Danimus said so many people rely on SNAP because the cost of living, including housing, health care and education, is too high and "ridiculous."
Some people are unable to work because of undiagnosed mental health conditions, she said, and many SNAP recipients are elderly people and children.
According to the USDA, in fiscal year 2023, 79% of SNAP households included either a child, an elderly individual or a nonelderly individual with a disability.
"There's a million reasons why someone would be on SNAP and not earning enough," she said. "I think thresholds should be raised so more people qualify."
She said one of her campaign slogans is "Make America Affordable Again," and her platform will focus on removing all tariffs on food items and ensuring farmers get their crops to market.
Feeding people needs to be a government priority, she added.
David Womack
Womack said the current administration is gutting social safety nets while it continues to spend money on wars.
It is especially difficult for people experiencing homelessness to meet the work requirements, he said, because they often do not have access to showers, clean clothes or transportation, making it tough for them to get hired.
"It's ridiculous to put those kinds of restrictions on people who are in these situations," he added.
The primary reason, he said, food banks are facing strain is the changes to SNAP, especially the withdrawal of benefits from people who are lawfully present in the country.
He said farmers' surplus crops can be used to assist food banks in need.
Nate Powell
Powell said the new eligibility requirements are not practical because they add layers of bureaucratic hurdles for low-income families.
"It creates a more ordered society when we support the people in this country and give them a hand up to be able to work toward a better life," he said.
The U.S. is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, he said, and its government does not need to withhold food aid from people.
"The idea that if you can't find a job, you don't get to eat is wrong," he said.
There should be a farm bill that supports food aid programs and farmers, he added.
Andrew Bartleson
Bartleson said the job market is quite bad, and it can take even college graduates at least a year to find stable employment.
"When you keep people in those lower tiers where they're worried about basic needs, safety and security, then they can't really build community to get the better things that they deserve and want," he said.
The government, he said, should provide food to everyone in need.
"We're supposed to be the greatest, wealthiest country in the world," he said. "You've got hungry people - that's just unacceptable."
He said corporations and grocery stores should donate their surplus food to food banks before it goes bad and has to be thrown out.
Richard Freudenberg
Freudenberg said the work requirements are designed to remove people from the program, and no one should face the threat of hunger if they lose their job.
"Just because you lose your job doesn't mean you should be in a position to start going hungry or not being able to feed your children," he said. "That is not acceptable."
If elected, he said, he would comprehensively change social programs, so they include child care and housing assistance.
He said he would work to support food banks so that not only citizens, but everyone with legal status has access to food.
Michael McGarr
McGarr said cuts to SNAP and the USDA should be reversed.
"We have enough food to feed everyone in our country," he said. "We have enough money to do it as well."
He said feeding and taking care of people in need should be a bipartisan issue.
If elected, he said, he would try to serve on the House Agriculture Committee because agriculture is an integral part of District 5.
Kevin Fagan
Fagan said SNAP should be made as accessible to people as possible.
He said the more hurdles people face while trying to access basic needs, the more likely it is to exacerbate the impacts of homelessness, disability and financial hardship.
"Those crises only get worse when we make people jump through more hoops," he said.
The most efficient way of helping food banks, he said, would be to reverse the work requirements and provide direct federal funding to organizations in need.
Matthew Hayes
Hayes said he does not have an issue with eligibility requirements generally, but that the current changes represent an overreach by the Republican Party.
"People should not go hungry, especially in our wealthy nation," he said.
SNAP, he said, should not be scrutinized as it is now because food should be considered a human right.
If elected, he said he would assist food banks by volunteering, providing moral support and communicating directly with them to understand their problems.
"I would go to these places and really try to learn what's going on, so that I can advocate best for the folks in those situations," he said.
Bajun Mavalwalla
Mavalwalla said Republicans implemented these requirements because they want cheap labor, and people who are desperate for work and food will work for lower wages.
"They are doing this intentionally to bamboozle the American public into thinking that there are other Americans that are just too lazy to work, and it's simply not true," he said.
Food is a fundamental right, he said, and the U.S., as one of the richest countries in the world, should take care of anyone facing hardship instead of spending money on the Iran war.
He said SNAP was introduced to address widespread hunger among low-income populations, and Congress needs to remember that because currently there is not enough food available for the people who need it.
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This story was originally published July 7, 2026 at 10:03 PM.