🩷My Sweet Embracable You💛
If you've been hearing whispers that, "Walmart is closing November 1st," take a breath. This isn't exactly what's happening, though I completely understand why the confusion feels so real—and so frightening.
What's actually at stake is SNAP benefits potentially being suspended on November 1st due to the government shutdown. Somehow, in the way information travels these days, "SNAP benefits suspended," has morphed into "Walmart is closing." It's like a game of telephone, except the stakes are people's ability to feed their families and access essential goods.
For those of us who've already lost our local Walmart, this fear isn't abstract. Our store closed during COVID—in November, no less—after a series of violent robberies that made national news. One day we had a one-stop shop for groceries, prescriptions, hardware, and everything in between. The next, we were driving to another county just to buy light bulbs or get cough syrup.
When you've lived through a Walmart closure, you know what it means. It means elderly neighbors who can't drive far losing access to affordable medication. It means families spending gas money they don't have to reach the nearest store. It means no hardware store, no craft supplies, no easy place to grab poster board for your kid's school project at 7 PM.
So yes, when people hear "November 1st" and "shutdown" in the same sentence, the panic is understandable.
The actual concern is that if the government shutdown continues, SNAP benefits (food stamps) could be suspended. This would be devastating for millions of families who depend on this assistance to buy groceries—many of them shopping at stores like Walmart.
If SNAP benefits stop, stores that serve SNAP recipients would see their customer base shrink dramatically. This could certainly affect business, and in extreme cases, might contribute to store closures down the line. But that's a potential domino effect, not an immediate November 1st shutdown of Walmart stores.
Even if you don't use SNAP benefits, this matters. When a significant portion of your community loses purchasing power overnight, it affects local businesses, tax revenue, and the overall economy of your area. And for those of us who've already lost essential retail infrastructure, we know how hard it is to get it back.
The solution isn't to panic about Walmart closing. It's to push for the government to reopen and ensure SNAP benefits continue. Because whether it's SNAP suspension or store closures, the people who suffer most are those who can least afford it—and often, they're our neighbors who are already shopping in the next county over, just trying to get by.
Let's focus our energy where it belongs: demanding our elected officials keep essential services running, not chasing rumors that Walmart is shuttering its doors.
