Cuts to SNAP and pharmacy access will only worsen food inequities, not improve them

By: Shyam K. Sriram and Nick Kishbaugh

Shyam K. Sriram, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science.

Nick Kishbaugh (‘25) majored in Sports & Exercise Health Care and was a two-year captain of the swimming team. He plans to attend medical school. 

In recent weeks, two major developments have occurred nationally that, combined, pose a grave dual threat to the lives of the poorest Americans. First, President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill (the actual name) changed the eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the largest federal nutrition program in the country.

The White House argues that SNAP cuts are needed to ensure that more “able-bodied adults” will receive benefits (with proof of employment among other changes). But what is missing in all the information put out by the administration is that drastic cuts to SNAP hurt Americans by lowering the spending power of recipients, which will have a drastic effect on grocery stores and supermarkets. In a 2020 research study by Timothy Beatty and his coauthors at the University of California at Davis, it was determined that SNAP access increased food sales and employment.

Secondly, Rite-Aid has closed hundreds of stores nationally in the last two years with New York being among a handful of states hit the hardest. The loss of a neighborhood Rite-Aid may not seem like much, but for many Americans it may exacerbate access to groceries (in food deserts) and access to pharmacists and healthcare information (in pharmacy deserts). Coupled with the very real challenges of inequitable urban and transit planning – what my student Tariq LeFever calls “transit deserts” – you have a triangulated nightmare of policy sadness.

One myth that many Americans accidentally reinforce is the belief in the higher prevalence of grocery stores in poorer neighborhoods, which makes some think that these areas have more access to fresh food. The reality is different according to Latetia Moore and Ana Diez Roux at the University of Michigan. Supermarkets sell a wide variety of food and household products, but grocery stores (and co-ops and delis) offer a smaller selection of foods and household items. Convenience stores are at the bottom of the list; as the name implies, they offer convenience in basic foods and household supplies. In their analysis of food options among residents of Baltimore County(Maryland), Manhattan and the Bronx(New York) and Forsyth County(North Carolina), there were significantly more supermarkets in white and wealthier areas versus minority and poorer areas, and more convenience stores in lower-income, minority neighborhoods. Supermarkets provide healthier and more affordable options, but wealthier neighborhoods also benefit from farmers’ markets, bakeries and natural food stores. 

What is a pharmacy desert? Natalie DiPietro Mager and her coauthors describe it as “specific geographic areas that lack local access to a pharmacy.” They typically mirror the standard method for identifying food deserts; accordingly, a pharmacy desert is a locale that is one mile or greater from a community pharmacy. They cite one 2020 study where it was reported that nearly half of U.S. counties had at least one pharmacy desert. 

The collapse of Rite-Aid is part of a larger pattern of a community pharmacy model that is no longer sustainable. According to Sashi Moodley, Walgreens’ chief medical officer, the clinical expertise and service of pharmacists are undervalued; they are essentially seen as merchants. The more drugs and prescriptions, the higher the reimbursement. On a side note, it is vital to mention that one reason Rite-Aid failed is because of lawsuits accusing the corporation of complicity in sustaining the opioid epidemic. 

So, why does any of this matter? Everything happening nationally will hurt Buffalo’s marginalized and their support systems; the Big Beautiful Bill also severed food banks and schools from $1 billion in federal funding. Those who solely depend on convenience stores and smaller grocery stores will be more nutritionally disadvantaged, as relying on these stores comes with reduced access to fresh and healthy food. As UB’s Christopher Daly also acknowledged, the loss of Rite-Aid in Buffalo cripples patients who will need new pharmacies; hinders the distribution of vaccines(which became one of their key roles during the pandemic); places more pressure on providers including hospitals; and may also increase the price of medications since there are fewer pharmacies. 

None of this is the fault of anyone in Buffalo or Erie County, but that will offer zero consolation to our neighbors who cannot get answers to their most pressing health questions. Worse, now there will be even more pressure on extant pharmacists and their staff who already assume the roles of nurses and physicians in geographic settings where having healthcare workers is a luxury. 

We invite further conversation with concrete action items for Canisius faculty, staff and students to help our neighbors by building greater access to nutritious food and pharmaceutical education. This is cura personalis in action.