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SNAP EBT store sign
Gas City - July 22, 2025: SNAP and EBT Accepted here sign. SNAP and Food Stamps provide benefits to help the budgets of disadvantaged families.
Many immigrant and refugee families arriving in the U.S. rely on food stamps. While recent federal cuts to SNAP benefits affect working-class Americans of all backgrounds, immigrant and refugee communities are among the most vulnerable in such circumstances. These neighbors work exceptionally hard to provide for their families here and abroad, yet many are struggling to make ends meet.
Milwaukee-based resettlement agency Hanan Relief Group (3927 S. Howell Ave.) helps refugee families become self-sufficient as they create a life for themselves here. Executive director Sheila Badwan observes that newly-arrived immigrants often take entry-level jobs that fellow Americans do not want. “I’ve met doctors who are working in factories just to support their families,” she says. “They have to now choose if they’re going to pay their rent or purchase food because they lost their SNAP benefits.”
Another organization, Community Center for Immigrants (1433 N. Water St.), assists with green card applications. Executive director Caitlyn Lewis notes that many immigrants have come from countries on President Trump’s travel ban list, which effectively stalls their cases. “Not only is the Trump administration not approving their green cards, they are now stripping these families of their government benefits because they don't have green cards,” Lewis explains.
Long Delays
Green card processing times—which normally take about six months—may now be up to two years. “Despite repeated follow-ups and direct correspondence with USCIS, many applications remain untouched,” Lewis adds. “The scale of need will far exceed the capacity of any single organization to respond. The consequences will be severe: families will lose stability and many refugees will face hunger and deepening poverty as a result.”
In order to aid immigrants and refugees in feeding themselves and their families, many of whom are Muslim, Hanan Relief Group runs a halal food pantry in partnership with Hunger Task Force. Because families often require culturally appropriate foods, other pantries may not always be an option for them.
This has put a ton of pressure on Hanan in keeping up with demand. After the initial SNAP cuts on November 1, Hanan staff phoned clients to see if they had lost benefits, finding that many indeed had. “We asked Hunger Task Force to double the number of food boxes we’re getting,” Executive Director Sheila Badwan attests. “Now, biweekly, we can’t even keep up … we’re actually seeing if they can provide us weekly with those doubled numbers.”
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Increased Need
Badwan anticipates an increased need for food as months go by, so Hanan has consolidated resources and enlisted community partnerships such as canned food drives at Salam School, Masjid Al-Huda and Salvation Army. “We’re doing the best we can in-house,” Badwan states. “It’s critical right now, but we can only do what we have the capacity to do, and no food bank or organization is going to be able to replace the government funding.”
Despite hardships, Badwan does see a community coming together, mentioning how local halal grocery stores like Amanah Food Market and Chemo’s Butcher Shop (both 1301 W. Edgerton Ave.) have stepped in to help. “They’re struggling too,” she points out. “These are people who have donated free groceries for refugees in the past.”
For several years now, Hanan Relief Group has hosted a halal turkey give-away drive every Thanksgiving. This past November’s drive fed hundreds of families over the holiday. “It’s really hard to find halal turkey,” Badwan notes. “A lot of refugees probably have never eaten turkey before they came to the U.S.”
She continues about the drive, “Hunger Task Force provided us with some additional things to give people a full meal. We had a lot of single mothers who came out - some who might have experienced domestic violence. There’s a lot of food insecurities. I was walking up and down those aisles and so many were thanking us for doing this.”
If folks can support Hanan Relief Group in its pantry efforts, the organization takes both food and monetary donations.The Burmese Rohingya Community of Wisconsin (2330 W. Scott St.) and Milwaukee Islamic Da’wa Center (5135 N. Teutonia Ave.) each have halal food pantries as well. Hunger Task Force also provides halal meat by way of its mobile market often parked near the Muslim Community Health Center (803 W. Layton Ave.).
