Klobuchar Gives Minnesota Grocery Chain National Shout-out on SNAP Cut Impacts

It's weird to hear your hometown grocery store shouted out on national TV as an example in the on-going reconciliation bill debate in Congress..

But that's exactly what happened Wednesday night when U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar appeared on MSNBC's "The Briefing with Jen Psaki" and cited St. Cloud-based Coborn's regional grocery store chain.

Psaki asked the Minnesota Democrat about provisions of Congressional Republicans' reconciliation bill -- what President Trump calls the "One, Big, Beautiful Bill."

Specifically, cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, otherwise known as SNAP benefits.

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Cuts to federal food assistance will have many impacts.

Klobuchar told Psaki "Our number one focus is on kids and veterans and seniors who rely on food assistance, sometimes for short periods of time."

But beyond that, Klobuchar says cuts to SNAP will hurt farmers and their markets already impacted by tariffs and uncertain trade policies created by the Trump administration.

Klobuchar says cuts to food assistance programs will shift to individual states the cost of benefits and helping to feed people. She says many states have requirements to operate a balanced budget and can't afford to take on food assistance program costs the federal government has been providing.

Klobuchar says grocery stores in rural areas could be hit hard by cuts to food assistance.

"Sometimes there's one grocery store in a whole county," she says. "It is the hub."

"They may be smaller chains like Coborn's in Minnesota. They may be independent, single groceries, but they have ranging from 5% to 30% to 40% for the people that use some SNAP benefits."

Klobuchar says this might be the margin for those grocery stores to be able to stay open in those areas.

(Hear Klobuchar's comments on grocery stores starting at :41. If video does not appear, you can see it on X here.)

At the end of their interview, Psaki -- the former White House Press Secretary in the Biden Administration -- told Minnesota's Senior Senator, you "make me want to go to Coborn's."

Klobuchar quickly added, "They started in Minnesota. They've grown to dozens and dozens and dozens of stores, but they're not a national chain as much."

Klobuchar says the cuts and tightening of eligibility requirements will hurt people in rural areas that are depending on this food assistance. "It's also going to be a blow to independent groceries, to farmers, and then, of course, to the states that simply aren't  going to be able ot pay for this."

The "One, Big, Beautiful Bill" narrowly passed in the House, 215-214.

It's being considered in the US Senate now.

President Trump wants to sign the bill into law by the July 4th holiday.