SNAP food assistance recipients across the country are facing a looming deadline: Their cards may not be replenished as of Nov. 1 due to the government shutdown in Washington.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which serves nearly 42 million people each month, provides money to states each month. Benefits have been largely uninterrupted over the past three weeks as October funding was allocated to states before the shutdown began on Oct. 1.
But in an Oct. 10 letter to the state SNAP agency and regional directors, the Department of Agriculture warned there would not be enough money to pay out full SNAP benefits, also known as food stamps, in November if the shutdown continues.
Many states have announced they plan to suspend SNAP benefits if the shutdown continues into next month. This could cut off people's ability to buy food on an unprecedented scale – a program that has not been stopped by any government shutdown in recent history.
As November 1 approaches, some government leaders are advising people contact food banks or use remaining benefits to purchase non-perishable items.
“If you have accumulated SNAP benefits from previous months, use those funds now to purchase nonperishable food items that will last through November and beyond,” Arkansas Department of Human Services. says on his website.
But food banks say it will be impossible to fill the gap.
“Our food network or system in this country is not going to be able to provide that much food overnight or quickly. It's an impossible task,” said Catherine D'Amato, CEO of the Greater Boston Food Bank.
She said her organization is already getting calls from people asking where they can go to feed their families. D'Amato estimated that the suspension of SNAP benefits would lead to a shortage of up to 56 million meals in Massachusetts in November.
At least one state, Pennsylvania, has already stopped issuing SNAP benefits. State announced that “Beginning October 16, SNAP benefits will not be paid until the federal government shutdown ends and funds are transferred to Pennsylvania.”
Texas, meanwhile, said SNAP benefits will not be issued next month if the shutdown continues after October 27. And in Wisconsin, SNAP recipients received a letter this week telling them that even their remaining funds from October may not carry over.
“Benefits may not be available in November,” the letter states. “This could include any funds remaining on your card at the end of October. You may want to use your benefits to stock up on food until the end of October.”
Oregon and Massachusetts state treasurers said at a news conference Thursday that their states have no contingency plans for SNAP if the federal government doesn't provide funding. State budgets cannot afford to cover the full cost of benefits for the population, they added.
“At a time when food costs continue to rise, SNAP makes the difference between being fed and going hungry,” said Elizabeth Steiner, Oregon State Treasurer. “This decision on behalf of the federal government is an absolute abdication of responsibility to families in Oregon and across the United States who are struggling to make ends meet.”
She added that “every administration so far, Republican or Democratic, has understood that feeding Americans is a fundamental responsibility of the federal government.”
In response to questions about SNAP funding, an Agriculture Department spokesman called the issue a tipping point for Democrats: “Keep fighting for health care for undocumented immigrants or reopen the government so mothers, children and the most vulnerable among us can receive WIC and SNAP payments on time.”
Amid the lockdown standoff, congressional Democrats are advocating for certain health care provisions, including extending tax breaks under the Affordable Care Act. Under federal law, these credits, like other forms of federal health care, do not apply to immigrants living in the United States illegally.
Democrats and Republicans will have to agree on a spending package to reopen the government.
WIC, which provides free meals to low-income pregnant women, mothers and children under 5, also risks facing a funding shortfall in November due to the program's closure. Earlier this month, the Department of Agriculture used tax dollars to allocate $300 million to keep the program, known in its entirety as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, afloat. However, many states are concerned that funding could run out at the end of October.
Both WIC and SNAP participants use preloaded electronic cards to purchase food at participating grocery stores. For many low-income individuals and families, benefits are the only means of purchasing staples such as milk, eggs, grains and vegetables.
“What worries me is that there are 16 million children going home after school or staying home with their caregiver and not having lunch or dinner,” said Christy Gleeson, chief policy officer for the humanitarian organization Save the Children. She added: “It is quite possible that a parent or carer will be left without him so that the child can [eat]”
