Tap Talks Mid‑Point Update: What We’ve Learned So Far About the True Cost of Living

With two sessions now complete, the Tap Talks: The True Cost of Living series is already sparking powerful conversation, reflection, and motivation among Franklin County residents. The series, led by anti-poverty expert and SCCAP CEO Megan Shreve, is drawing a diverse group of community members who want to better understand the affordability crisis — and what they can do to help.

Across both sessions, one theme has surfaced again and again: the rising cost of living isn’t theoretical. It’s affecting almost everyone. With one in three Franklin County residents living paycheck to paycheck, and housing and food costs continuing to climb, the challenges facing local families, seniors, and workers are impossible to ignore.

Workshop 1: The True Cost of Living

During the first session, participants dug into a hands‑on cost‑of‑living exercise, exploring two common local scenarios:

• A family of four with two children

• A single senior age 65

Using local market costs, participants estimated monthly expenses — housing, food, transportation, childcare, healthcare, and more. When these estimates were compared to actual Franklin County wage data, the conclusion emerged quickly and clearly:

Even full-time workers often cannot meet basic needs. The math simply doesn’t add up.

This activity helped participants see what it means to “live in the margins” — to be constantly one unexpected bill away from crisis. Shreve layered in local data to illustrate how outdated systems and wage structures make financial stability nearly impossible for many households.

Workshop 2: The Cost of Eating Well

The second session moved into another essential topic: food access. Participants were challenged to “shop for groceries” using a SNAP budget, discovering just how difficult it is to meet nutritional needs on such limited funds.

In Pennsylvania, the average SNAP allotment is about $6.00 per day — and for residents of Adams and Franklin Counties, it’s even lower at $5.78 per day. That figure doesn’t account for the thousands of families who are food insecure but don’t qualify for SNAP at all.

Shreve also walked attendees through the complicated eligibility rules (SNAP work requirements (exemptions)), outdated poverty guidelines, and decades‑old formulas used to determine benefit levels — systems originally designed in the 1960s and never meaningfully modernized. These structural issues leave countless households undercounted and under-supported.

Participants completed a Hunger Challenge ahead of the workshop, reflecting on whether they could realistically survive on $6 a day for food. Their answers set the tone for a thoughtful group conversation.

What Participants Are Saying

Feedback so far has been candid, reflective, and deeply human. Participants have shared insights such as:

• Families living in poverty experience constant stress.

• Using SNAP does not mean someone isn’t working hard — most recipients are employed.

• Wages are not keeping pace with the rising cost of living.

• “Neighbors used to help each other more, but community support has weakened.”

• Policymakers appear to be out of touch with the lived realities of local residents.

• Recent changes to SNAP benefits, including those under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, fail to address core system-level issues.

Despite these concerns, participants also voiced hope and determination — and offered ideas for collective action.

Ideas for Community Action

Attendees are already thinking about ways to translate their learning into meaningful impact. Suggestions have included:

• Forming community action groups

• Sharing cost‑of‑living data more widely

• Donating foods to local pantries that SNAP cannot cover

• Contacting local, state, and federal officials

• Sharing personal stories to help policymakers understand what affordability challenges look like on the ground

These ideas reflect a growing sense of agency — an understanding that while the problems are structural, the solutions begin with informed, engaged community members.

Looking Ahead

As we move into the second half of the Tap Talks series, the momentum is strong. Participants are connecting the dots between individual hardship and broken systems — and they’re eager to learn more about what can be done at both the community and policy levels.

The next sessions on housing affordability, housing systems, and local solutions promise to deepen that understanding and inspire even more action. Register here for the upcoming Tap Talks on March 18 and April 15, 2026 at 6pm in the Market Lounge at GearHouse Brewing Co.