A little more than a year ago, Ryan Sprankle welcomed President Donald Trump to one of the three grocery stores his family owns near Pittsburgh.

Trump was on the campaign trail; they talked about high grocery prices and Trump picked up a bag of popcorn.

But these days, Sprankle would have a different message if Trump or any other lawmaker visited his store.

Sprankle wants them to know that cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, during the government shutdown hurt his customers and his small, independent chain.

The Trump administration cut off SNAP funding at the end of October, impacting food access for some 42 million Americans.

On Monday, the U.S. Senate passed legislation that would reopen the federal government and replenish SNAP funds, but the U.S. House must still consider that legislation.

It's unclear when SNAP benefits might resume if the government reopens.

In 2024, SNAP recipients redeemed a little more than $96 billion in benefits, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The majority – 74% -- was spent at superstores and supermarkets, a category that includes Walmart and Kroger but also some independents stores like Sprankle's Neighborhood Market in Kittanning, Pennsylvania.

Around 14% was spent at smaller groceries and convenience stores, places often tucked into neighborhoods and more easily accessible to SNAP beneficiaries.

Etharin Cousin, a former director of the United Nations World Food Program and founder of the nonprofit Food Systems for the Future, said the cutoff of SNAP benefits had immediate impacts on grocers and convenience stores of all sizes, most of whom operate on slim profit margins of 1% to 2%.

Walmart declined to comment on the impact of SNAP cuts but noted that it has been lowering prices and donating to local food banks. Kroger also declined to comment.

Sprankle said the cuts affect all retailers, but become “a big problem more quickly” at small chains like his.

Sprankle's Kittanning store gets 25% of its revenue from SNAP, but even customers who don't get government assistance are worried about the shutdown.

They're spending less, trading down to cheaper goods or heading to food banks, he said.

Sprankle said lower sales cut into the overtime he can offer to the chain's 140 employees. Many are worried about losing their jobs, he said.

SNAP cuts also had an immediate impact on Kanbe’s Markets, a nonprofit that stocks produce in coolers at 110 convenience stores around Kansas City.

Kanbe’s distributes a mixture of donated food and food it buys from wholesalers to keep prices low, said Max Kaniger, Kanbe’s founder and CEO.

Kanbe’s also distributes free food to 50 food pantries and soup kitchens around the city.

Kaniger said some of the convenience stores he works with saw their sales drop 10% in the days after Nov. 1, when SNAP benefits weren't paid.

At the same time, the food pantries he supplies asked for double or triple their usual orders.

Babir Sultan sells berries, lemons, potatoes, bananas and other produce from Kanbe’s at his four FavTrip convenience stores in the Kansas City area.

His stores are in food deserts, far from other groceries or big retailers, he said, so it's important to him to stock fresh produce for those neighborhoods.

Sultan said foot traffic at his stores fell 8% to 10% in early November after SNAP benefits were cut. He decided to offer $10 of free produce to SNAP recipients, but said he’s also happy to help out non-SNAP customers right now.