The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Angelo, Texas, encompasses approximately 37,433 square miles. It is the largest geographic diocese in the state of Texas, made up of 29 counties in West and Central Texas.

Bishop Michael J. Sis, our priests, deacons, and laity are responsible for approximately 120,000 Catholic souls in this vast territory. According to data from the Texas Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as of August 2025, some 89,076 people in these counties, inclusive of all denominations, participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known by its acronym, SNAP, or as food stamps, with an average monthly allowance per family of $379, slightly higher than the national average.

Chances are, someone you know relies on this government benefit to feed themselves and their families.

The SNAP Recipient

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published the Characteristics of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Households: Fiscal Year 2023 report, reflecting a national profile of the SNAP user.

• More than 95 percent of SNAP recipients are U.S.-born or naturalized U.S. citizens.
• Seventy-nine percent of all SNAP benefits go to households that include a child (younger than 18), an elderly person (age 60 or older), or someone with a disability.
• SNAP recipients represent different races and/or ethnicities.
  • White (non-Hispanic): 35.4 percent
  • African American: 25.7 percent
  • Hispanic: 15.6 percent
  • Asian: 3.9 percent
  • Native American: 1.3 percent
  • Race unknown or multiple races: 17 percent

People receiving SNAP benefits have encountered critical life circumstances that make providing adequate sustenance for themselves almost impossible, such as illness, injury, mental health issues, or family circumstances. And, in most cases, there is someone in the household who is working, but the income is not enough to cover basic food costs. Circumstances are different, but many tell the same story: No one wants to be hungry and searching for the next meal. Everyone wants to eat. No one wants to be fed. The following is just one story of one neighbor.

Billy Joe Gambill’s story

“In 2018, I was working for the Mercedes Company in Seattle, Washington, as a mechanic when I tripped overa half-inch air hose and broke my left foot. Five surgeries later and after a job change to a search and rescue company on Mt. Rainier, by 2021, I found I could no longer work. I had enough money to last me about two years, but I couldn’t get a job anywhere because of my foot. The last three years have been hell.

“In 2022 and throughout 2023, I was living off my savings and crisscrossing the country looking for work with no luck. I had no family. By the time I got to Junction, Texas, I was done. That was going to be the end of it. I bought a case of beer and a [fistful] of pills and pulled into an empty junkyard at the end of town and took all of it. I figured I wouldn’t be found. I was trying to commit suicide. I didn’t want to be found, but I was. I stayed hospitalized in Junction in a coma for a month, and then they sent me to the [Shannon] Behavioral Health hospital in San Angelo where I stayed for another month. I had to learn how to walk again and take care of myself. But I was homeless, and using a walker, and it was winter, and all I had was a T-shirt. My car was repossessed and my new home became the bridge under Ben Ficklin Road in San Angelo, but only after I ended up back in the hospital twice because I fell and broke my back, twice. I was sick from snake bite and scorpion and centipede bite during that time I lived under the bridge. But the agencies I went to for help wanted me to come work for them. They didn’t understand, and it was like they couldn’t see I could barely walk.

“Then I met Pastor Joe (Joe Bourgeois, Pastor, West Side Baptist Church) and Miss Wanda (Wanda Gully, Executive Director, Catholic Outreach Services) in February of 2023. At the time, I was living off a bag of donuts and a 2-liter soda and made it last 2 weeks. Had it not been for them, I would have just looked for a place to commit suicide again. Once Miss Wanda helped me with bus passes, I could come here [to Catholic Outreach] once a day for a meal. By April of 2023, she helped me with the application to get SNAP. I qualified for $291 a month. Miss Wanda also helped me qualify for disability, and I got backpay for that. With that, I was able to buy a camper and a used pickup truck, which is what I call home now. Pastor Joe lets me park my camper behind his church. But as soon as I got disability, which is $1,245 a month, my SNAP benefit was dropped to $23 a month. The thing is, the bills I pay now are more than my disability check. My insulin by itself is $500 a month and I’m on about seven other different medications. Everything else adds up — car insurance, propane for my camper. And there are all the things SNAP won’t pay for like foods that are hot at the point of sale. I can’t buy one of those rotisserie chickens at Walmart even though they’re a bargain and last for days. I have to find a stove and cook and a refrigerator to store food. SNAP won’t pay for nonfood items such as pet foods, cleaning supplies, paper products, even toilet tissue or hygiene items. Since my SNAP benefits were cut, once again I’m out of money for food by the end of every month.

“For people who want to think about SNAP as a luxury, I ask them, have you ever had to worry about when you’re going to eat next? Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up. Most of the places that help with food or other benefits are going to be closed for two or three days. I have no family whatsoever; just him,” he says, indicating his massive service dog, Goliath, whose food and veterinary upkeep Billy Joe also has to pay out of pocket. Every time one agency helps out, another one stops.

Billy Joe will be 60 years old in 2026, and the future remains uncertain. He may lose his disability benefits and instead be placed on social security, which could lower monthly payments. Because of new SNAP guidelines, he could be forced out of eligibility. Still, he will tell you thanks to Miss Wanda and Pastor Joe and the good Lord, that junkyard in Junction, Texas, is ancient history.

SNAP beneficiaries in the Diocese of San Angelo by county

Andrews — 1,582
Brown — 5,291
Callahan — 1,546
Coke — 309
Coleman — 1,096
Concho — 303
Crane — 458
Crockett — 307
Ector — 20,163
Glasscock — 47
Howard — 3,487
Irion — 99
Kimble — 388
Martin — 498
McCulloch — 1,179
Menard — 205
Midland — 14,957
Mitchell — 875
Nolan — 2,005
Pecos — 1,637
Reagan — 266
Runnels — 1,192
Schleicher — 224
Sterling — 111
Sutton — 277
Taylor — 17,147
Terrell — 64
Tom Green — 13,041
Upton — 322

Eligibility and qualifying

Neither Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients nor "illegal" (undocumented) immigrants are eligible for SNAP.

Eligibility is based on income limits, typically 130 percent of the federal poverty level. In 2025, according to federal guidelines, that equals $529 a week for a household of two, or $27,495 a year. The average monthly SNAP benefit per household was $332.

Most adults ages 18 to 54 with no children in their home can get SNAP for only three months in a three-year period. The benefit period might be longer if the person works at least 20 hours a week or is in a job or training program. An elderly, disabled, or pregnant person could be excluded from this requirement.

Most people ages 16 to 59 must follow work rules to get SNAP benefits, which means looking for a job or being in an approved work program. If the person has a job, they can’t quit without a good reason. More than 80 percent of SNAP families had at least one working adult in the past 12 months.

People receive benefits electronically each month through an electronic benefits transfer, or EBT card, that functions much like a debit card.

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As of November, new SNAP work rules and qualifying guidelines apply. Beginning April 1, 2026, the Big Beautiful Bill brings more restrictions for accessing SNAP. For example, veterans are no longer exempt from any qualifying and eligibility guidelines. Please access official government resources at the Texas Department of Health & Human Services at https://www.hhs.texas.gov/services/food/snapfood-benefits, or visit or call Catholic Outreach Services at 325-617-7292, 410 N. Chadbourne, San Angelo, Texas 76903.


Photo: Billy Joe Gambill and his service dog, Goliath. Photo by Gloria Johns.