SOUTH DEERFIELD — State and local officials gathered at Deerfield Town Hall on Sunday to answer residents’ questions about the fate of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, cuts to Medicaid and subsidized health insurance, and other local impacts of federal funding concerns, though some outcomes remain uncertain.
State Sen. Jo Comerford, state Rep. Natalie Blais, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources Commissioner Ashley Randle, Food Bank of Western Massachusetts Executive Director Andrew Morehouse, Massachusetts Director of Rural Affairs Anne Gobi and Deerfield Town Administrator Christopher Dunne fielded questions as part of “Federal Cuts, Local Consequences,” the seventh free community conversation organized by Engage: Deerfield since the series began in January.
The program also served to take action, raising $650 in donations for Community Action Pioneer Valley’s Center for Self-Reliance food pantry, according to Engage: Deerfield President Pat Ryan. With the Trump administration announcing Monday that it will provide only half of the normal SNAP benefits for November by tapping into the program’s contingency fund amid the ongoing government shutdown, and recipients not likely to see payments immediately, efforts to bolster food security in the region are still going strong.
Comerford outlined the effects of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, emphasizing the toll on those relying on Medicaid and subsidized health insurance. According to Comerford, the harm of these cuts will largely hit after the midterms.
“When that happens, there will be significant pain as people lose the ability to remain on MassHealth and Medicaid,” Comerford said, adding that hospitals will serve a surge of uninsured or underinsured patients, leading to downstream costs.
During the question-and-answer portion of the forum, Erika Higgins Ross shared that her daughter was recently diagnosed with a chronic illness. Through tears, Higgins Ross asked if insulin costs will surge.
“I’m just terrified,” she said. “The conversation out there is like, ‘These people on MassHealth and these people on SNAP’… These people are us and we are scared.”
Comerford thanked Higgins Ross for her courage to speak openly and told her, “We don’t know the fate of that yet.”
“The question before the Legislature and the governor is, ‘What do we do to weather this moment? Where do our people need protecting? What choices do we have to make to do that protecting?” Comerford said. “That’s the kind of work that we have to do.”
Blais added that the state Legislature is facing difficult questions to address the demands of the moment, such as cutting funding for domestic and sexual violence prevention programs.
“Those votes, those decisions, are incredibly painful for us as well,” Blais said. “I just want to make sure that no one walks out of this room thinking that we don’t feel this as deeply as you do, because, let me tell you, we do.”
“We can’t fill every gap in federal cuts, nor can we protect our people from every federal incursion, but we can and must do every single thing that we can,” Comerford said.
Although the speakers stressed the collaboration at work between local and state organizations, state legislators and the Healey-Driscoll administration to meet the local needs of the moment, uncertainty was part of many of their responses.
When asked how Deerfield will mitigate the cascading impacts of federal cuts on the town’s infrastructure, Dunne mentioned the federal funding the town received in the past few years for infrastructure projects like the Leary Lot.
“We don’t exactly know what’s coming next,” Dunne said, “but we’re fortunate in that we had an opportunity to get a head start on a bunch of incredible projects.”
Gobi said she expects the next local toll of federal cuts to be heating assistance.
“It doesn’t stop,” Gobi said. “The next shoe is going to drop. It’s not if it’s going to drop, it’s just when.”
After praising the state legislators’ commitment to serving their constituents, Gobi added, “It’s easy to lead when things are good; it’s not as easy to lead when things are bad.”
Discussing SNAP benefits, Morehouse said, “We’re at really an inflection point right now where people are not receiving their SNAP benefits, they don’t know when they’re going to receive them.” He added, “There’s a lot of fear and concern and anger about what people are going to do who rely on those food benefits to put food on the table.”
“The fact of the matter is we don’t know how long it’s going to take to right the ship,” Blais said later in the forum.
Along with Morehouse encouraging the roughly 50 attendees to donate money to local food pantries, Blais stressed the importance of regular volunteering.
Engage: Deerfield member Lili Dwight said these action items align with the citizens group’s mission.
“Our goal is to channel people’s interests into action,” Dwight said. “In doing, we are empowered.”
Although the forum aimed to clarify the local impacts of the federal actions, Dwight said the answers of uncertainty still achieved this goal.
“I think what we learned is everyone at the state and local level is wrestling with uncertainty,” Dwight said. “We got real answers. We got honest answers from our people.”
Residents Alan and Edie Lipp said they also appreciated the speakers’ honesty and calls to action, adding the importance of getting younger generations involved as well.
“This is [multi-generational]. It’s got to be,” Edie Lipp said. “It’s a feeling of ‘we.'”
Lipp’s reflections echoed those of Emily Gaylord at the forum’s finish. After describing a pervasive “us versus them” mentality, Gaylord said, to applause, “Deerfield is a ‘we,’ and thank you for being part of that ‘we’ today.”