PASCO CO., Fla. — For Pearl Tillery, it’s all a bad combination.
The high cost of groceries, housing, and now cuts to some of the programs she relies on for help.
WATCH: SNAP cuts add to struggles
“This is the type of world we are living in where you are actually worried about where your next meal is coming from,” Tillery said.
When it comes to groceries, Pearl and her family of five have gotten assistance from SNAP, but now there are major cuts to that program.
Pearl says her monthly assistance is already down about $400 a month.
“It’s like adding on another bill that is difficult, especially when I’m being a single mom,” said Tillery.
Last week, ABC Action News looked into the challenge of feeding yourself using SNAP benefits.
Reports show about 70,000 people in Pasco County receive SNAP benefits, allowing them to pay from groceries and use that money another monthly expenses like utilities and rent.
Opponents of the SNAP cuts included in President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” said the elderly and children will be hurt the most.
The Volunteer Way in New Port Richey said that with federal cuts to food banks and the SNAP program, they are seeing more people in need in recent months.
“The eggs, the cheese, the milk, all have been taken away for the cutback,” said CEO Jeannine Xanthopoulos.
She says so many different people are affected.
“They are either low income, homebound, either recently lost their job, cut back in food stamps. Just in general, some of them [kids] are now are now home for the summer. And there is a big cutback and the kids eat more,” Xanthopoulos said.
Pearl says she turns to food banks, churches and smart shopping to keep food on the table for her family.
She’s also working with One Community Now for assistance and training to get a job here where she can help others during what’s becoming an even more difficult time.
“The people are suffering. They are treading water at this point just to be able to survive,” said Tillery.
'Cruise lights' on Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office patrol cars raise questions, confusion among drivers
Every driver knows that when you see red and blue flashing lights on a patrol car, you slow down, pull over, or get out of the way.
But in Hillsborough County, drivers will also now see deputies with their lights on, but not flashing. They're called "cruise lights," and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) recently implemented their use on all patrol vehicles.
