Cuts to SNAP programs may be on the way in Maine, however officials in the state are fighting back.

A new bill in Congress aims to stop SNAP benefits from being cut by the federal government.

In Maine about 180,000 people rely on SNAP benefits which is equivalent to one in every eight people.

CBS 13 reports that Members of the “Maine Federation of Farmers” say that cuts would not only hurt people and families who rely on the program, but farmers’ markets across the state.

“We are just talking about low-income, food insecure, very vulnerable households. It’s a tragedy what’s going to fall upon them when their food benefit that usually only lasts them two weeks might only last one week now,” Jimmy Debiasi, the executive director of the Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets, said in a quote from our news partners at CBS 13.

Officials are concerned that cuts to SNAP benefits would lead to a rise in food insecurity for farmer and would also put more financial pressure on them to make ends meet.