Opinion: When food is uncertain: Eating disorders and Alaska’s most vulnerable
- By Jess Rude, Jennifer Poon
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Across the country, families are bracing for Nov. 1 when Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) dollars could cease if the federal shutdown isn’t resolved. U.S. Department of Agriculture contingency funds are not enough to cover a month of benefits that ensure grocery money, putting tens of millions of Americans at risk of a sudden loss. The U.S. Conference of Mayors has urged the USDA to find a stopgap, but there’s no guarantee.
Food insecurity and the poverty behind it are incredibly stressful, and a form of structural harm and violence that can contribute to disordered eating or an eating disorder as a way of coping — i.e., a trauma response. And because food insecurity directly impacts one’s relationship with food, trauma can be exacerbated through forced feast-famine cycles.
State officials warned last week that if the shutdown stalemate continues, 66,471 Alaskans may not receive their November SNAP benefits. It’s a stark cliff for Alaska households already strained and absorbing higher food prices, limited grocery access and seasonal availability challenges, as well as climate impacts to traditional Alaska Native and rural food caches — not to mention devastating losses like the recent experience of displaced residents of Western Alaska villages due to Typhoon Halong.
Food security is critical to physical and mental health, cultural resilience and Indigenous sovereignty.
There is a strong connection between food insecurity and eating disorders, which are a growing concern for Alaska. The 2023 Alaska Youth Risk Behavior Survey revealed that nearly half of Alaska’s teens are engaging in disordered eating behaviors.
Eating disorders are a complex mental health condition marked by severe disturbances in eating behaviors. At least 9% of Alaskans will experience a diagnosable eating disorder in their lifetime. Eating disorders carry the second-highest rate of mortality of all mental health disorders (second only to opioid-use disorder) due to both the physical toll on the body and the associated high rate of suicide.
Research shows that people experiencing food insecurity and scarcity can worsen or trigger disordered eating in complex ways:
• Restrictive intake (skipping meals to stretch food dollars) can lead to binge episodes when food is available again.
• Chaotic schedules and stress can fuel cycles of restriction and overeating.
• Moralizing “cheap vs. healthy” choices piles shame onto an already heavy burden for the access issues so many of our Alaska communities have. In a food shortage, any safe, available food is acceptable nourishment.
A missed benefit deposit can mean missed meals and create behaviors that lead to eating disorders. For those who are in active recovery for an eating disorder, a missed benefit deposit is a missed meal, lost structure and relapse risk. All these risks are compounded in Alaska, where the nearest specialized treatment center is 1,500 air miles away.
SNAP is not just an economic stabilizer: It is a health intervention that helps people maintain predictable access to food, which is a basic human right essential for regulated eating patterns, blood sugar stability, and treatment outcomes. Sudden benefit gaps jeopardize all of that.
We can all take immediate, practical actions as neighbors, leaders, and policymakers to support this looming crisis and create resilient, healthy communities.
1. Urge federal action to prevent a SNAP lapse on Nov 1. A missed month is not theoretical. Current contingency dollars do not cover it. Every office — local, state, federal — needs to hear from constituents that food access is basic infrastructure.
2. Get trained. Join the thousands of Alaska families, educators and health providers whom the Alaska Eating Disorders Alliance trains to understand how to support those at risk, in treatment or in recovery - and help prevent the development of eating disorders by Building Body Confident Kids.
3. Help Alaska families in your own community keep food access predictable by supporting and promoting local and available resources. Friends at Food Bank of Alaska accept donations and can connect people to pantries statewide, and help navigate SNAP.
When food is uncertain, recovery becomes harder for everyone. Through solidarity, compassion and action, Alaska can ensure that no one struggling faces this crisis alone.
Jess Rude is the executive director of the Alaska Eating Disorders Alliance.
Jennifer Poon, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Urge Federal Action
Rep. Nick Begich
(907) 921-6575 or (202) 225-5765
Anchorage Office, 1016 W Sixth Ave, Suite 406, Anchorage, AK 99501
Sen. Lisa Murkowski
(907) 456-0233 or (202) 224-6665
Anchorage Office, 510 L Street, Suite 600, Anchorage, AK 99501
Sen. Dan Sullivan
(907) 271-5915 or (202) 224-3004
Anchorage Office, 510 L Street, Suite 750, Anchorage, AK 99501
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