For Immediate Release: August 8, 2025
Contact: Renee Alves, (559)-916-5939
Charleston, WV— In July, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued guidance to states to move ahead with implementing President Donald J. Trump’s executive order by creating a national Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) information database including the personal identifying information of SNAP participants and their families.
This guidance directed states to share the names, dates of birth, social security numbers, and addresses of people participating in SNAP with the USDA, an unprecedented request according to legal experts and former USDA officials, one of which underscored “FNS has never had a nationwide list of everyone receiving SNAP benefits, let alone detailed personal information like their address or income.”
This federal overreach raises significant individual privacy concerns, likely violating state and federal privacy laws in addition to the USDA’s own authority.
22 West Virginia advocacy and food security organizations have joined together to urge Governor Morrisey and state officials to refuse to comply with this directive, particularly as its legality and constitutionality is currently working its way through the courts after challenges by SNAP recipients and 21 states.
If Gov. Morrisey chooses to comply with this act of federal overreach, not only will he have betrayed his constituents who rely on SNAP by compromising their private information, he will also create a chilling effect whereby fewer families who struggle with food insecurity will feel comfortable participating in the SNAP program due to the potential privacy risks. West Virginians deserve to have their personal information and data protected, as well as transparency regarding how such information may be used.
You can read the full letter sent to Gov. Morrisey here.
