Former Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira — who is running for a Congress seat in Texas — took to social media this week to condemn the SNAP program in the United States.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, is the country’s largest anti-hunger program. Teixeira argued that the ongoing government shutdown is “exposing serious problems” in the program, which is set to expire on Friday.

“We should ensure a temporary safety net for Americans who fall on short-term hard times,” Teixeira wrote on X. ”43 million Americans are currently on SNAP. We spend around $8 billion every month on SNAP. The program is full of waste, fraud, and abuse. Some research even shows that SNAP recipients spend more on non-essential food items than the average person pays for groceries.”

“America has social welfare programs for one purpose: to serve as a temporary safety net for those who have no other options. When these programs become bloated and abused, they hurt the people who truly need help. It’s also an injustice to taxpayers who work hard and play by the rules — many of whom are struggling with rising grocery prices and can’t order groceries on DoorDash like SNAP recipients now can.

“This is shameful and wrong. We must end the waste, fraud, and abuse now.”

Teixeira did not cite evidence for these claims. Recipients of SNAP benefits are not allowed to use them on items outside of food for the household. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the approved list includes:

Other foods such as snack foods and non-alcoholic beverages; and

Seeds and plants, which produce food for the household to eat.

SNAP helps one in eight Americans (around 42 million) each month, with the benefits averaging $187 per participant per month.

President Donald Trump’s Department of Agriculture said in September that its shutdown plan included using the $5 billion to keep SNAP running. But in a memo last week, it said that it couldn’t legally use it that way. The memo also said the $23 billion is supporting other programs during the shutdown and that shouldn’t be jeopardized. Democratic officials argue that the administration is legally required to keep benefits going as long as it has funding. The agency said that the debit cards that SNAP beneficiaries use to buy groceries will not be reloaded as of Nov. 1.

On Aug. 28, Teixeira announced that he’d be running in Texas’s 21st Congressional District, where Rep. Chip Roy will not seek re-election as he runs for Texas Attorney General.

Teixeira, 45, is a Maryland native who currently lives in the Austin area. He spent the first four-plus years of his major-league career with the Texas Rangers.

The three-time All-Star concluded his career with eight years on the Yankees, winning a World Series in 2009.

Teixeira retired in 2016 after a 14-year career in which he hit .268 with a .869 OPS and 409 home runs.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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