Kori Petty fell behind on her rent during the government shutdown and found herself in eviction court Thanksgiving week.
Petty was on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and during the shutdown, when SNAP benefits were cut off, she had to choose between feeding her newborn baby and herself or paying her rent.
“I had to decide whether I wanted to pay rent or buy food,” Petty said. “Food was more important because I need food now.”
In Oklahoma, nearly 17% of the population relies on SNAP, and a quarter of renters are considered extremely low-income. That meant that when SNAP benefits were cut, many renters were left choosing between food and shelter.
More than 66% of households on SNAP in the state have children, with more than 33% being older adults or disabled and more than 42% being working families.
That correlates with data around extremely low-income renters in Oklahoma. The majority of extremely low-income renters in Oklahoma are working, disabled or elderly, with those three categories making up 83% of the group.
“Oklahoma renters are already struggling,” said Sabine Brown, senior policy analyst on housing for Oklahoma Policy Institute. “If you zero in on extremely low-income renters, they’re really going to be struggling due to these SNAP cuts.”
Nearly half of Oklahoma households struggled to afford necessities in 2023, according to a 2025 United For ALICE report. A shortage in affordable housing in Oklahoma, combined with one-fourth of Oklahoma renters having met the qualifications to be considered extremely low income, has left 45% of renter households cost-burdened.
“For those families, one emergency like this SNAP event can lead to missed rent and put them at a high risk for eviction, housing instability and homelessness,” Brown said. “The Oklahomans that will be most hurt by these cuts are children, seniors and people with disabilities.”
Data about the direct effects of the SNAP cuts on evictions is still being collected, but Amy Coldren, the director of advocacy and communication for Mental Health Association Oklahoma, has been surveying the dockets and said there is a clear link between the cuts and filings.
“It definitely made an impact just based on the stats we have seen so far,” Coldren said. “It made a very clear impact.”
Further data on the SNAP cut’s effects on evictions will be released later this month by Mental Health Association Oklahoma.
The eviction can be particularly damaging because once someone has been evicted, it becomes increasingly difficult to secure housing. In Oklahoma, most eviction records remain publicly available indefinitely. Even eviction filings dismissed in favor of the tenant remain available.
Most people who said they had been evicted because they had to choose between food and rent had not been repeat offenders, Coldren said.
“That points to SNAP being a cause in evictions filed this month,” Coldren said.
Petty was ultimately able to stay in her apartment.
“I just hope they don’t do Americans like that again,” she said, referring to the shutdown.
SNAP cuts were not the only ones made that harmed extremely low-income families in Oklahoma.
“We’re looking at cuts to a wide number of safety net programs beyond SNAP,” Brown said. “These SNAP cuts are coming at a time where we're already facing steep cuts to housing and homeless prevention programs and potential time limits to housing vouchers.”
The potential time limits to housing vouchers referenced, is a proposed two-year time limit on rental assistance from the federal government puts 32,300 Oklahomans, 18,400 of whom are children, at risk of eviction and homelessness.
“If we continue down this road, we are going to continue to see worsening evictions and homelessness,” Brown said.
