States are making last-ditch efforts to maintain access to groceries for their residents as the federal government prepared to stop sending out food benefits by an October 31 deadline while the government shutdown continues.
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) said it will not extend Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits starting Saturday because the Trump administration has refused to take contingency funding. But two court decisions reversed that direction.
Two federal judges on Friday ordered the White House use emergency funds To keep the snap on.
President Trump indicated a few hours later that the USDA would release contingency funds.
Late Friday night, President Trump said on Truth Social that it would be his “honor” to fund SNAP “if we are given the appropriate legal direction.” However, he added, “Our government attorneys do not think we have the legal authority to make payments to SNAP with some of the funds available.”
One in eight people in the US, or about 42 million people, receive SNAP benefits each month. Congress MPs sought to pass legislation to ensure continued funding, but the effort was thwartedfailed to garner sufficient supportBehind this.
With time running out and intervention from the White House uncertain, many states have rushed to ensure continuity in the interim.
Here are some of the contingency plans and realities states are grappling with as SNAP benefits were set to expire Saturday:
situations of emergency
States and territories including California, the District of Columbia, Louisiana, New York and West Virginia have deployed emergency funding for food banks and SNAP beneficiaries ahead of the anticipated interruption in benefits.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) said in a statement Thursday, “Unlike Washington Republicans, I will not sit by as families struggle to put food on the table. Today, I am declaring a state of emergency and providing additional state funding for emergency food assistance to ensure New Yorkers do not go hungry. Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have the power to stop this crisis – millions of families depend on it.”
The ability of states to avert large-scale impacts is limited. Hochul’s office reiterated that no state can replace federal SNAP benefits. In New Mexico, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) announced that $30 million will be released to provide assistance to SNAP beneficiaries, but they will only get it through November 10.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry (R) also last week declared a state of emergency until November 4, but leaned on GOP rhetoric that safety net programs should be more limited.
Landry said, “I urge those who are able to continue the effort to get rid of SNAP and similar programs. These programs are no longer credible because of the political games played by the Democrats.”
“I encourage our citizens to seek out the thousands of new job opportunities across our state and liberate themselves from these social programs that the left uses as a weaponized tool to score political points.”
California Gov. Newsom (D) deployed the California National Guard to support food banks and rushed through $80 million in state aid. California was one of more than 20 states to sue the Trump administration over its decision not to fund SNAP during the shutdown.
community driven efforts
Food banks across the country are preparing for an influx of people, with many seeing a surge in numbers even before the November deadline. Governors had been directing funds directly to food banks before the anticipated default.
“We distributed about 5,000 pounds of food in two days,” said Craig Gordy of the Oskaloosa Food Pantry in southeast Iowa. Brownfield Ag News“Normally, we give away about 300 or 400 pounds. People are stocking up because they know SNAP isn’t coming.”
planned to send to seattle $4 million per month to food banks until SNAP benefits are restored.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins suggested this earlier this month Billionaire George Soros Fund Snap Through November. It was announced on Friday that billionaire Mark Cuban has indeed donated to Pennsylvania’s Food Assistance Fund.
According to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (D), Cuban joined with a group of business people and lawmakers to make the donation.
“Each of these individuals stepped up in the early hours of our campaign to help feed Pennsylvanians on top of the private or public dollars we were releasing,” Shapiro said,
Major businesses have also joined in, with food delivery service DoorDash announcing this week that it will waive merchant fees Service and delivery fees for 300,000 grocery orders for food banks as well as SNAP.
States whose plans are in limbo
Before Trump’s arrival, some states had not finalized plans for continued food aid as of Friday.
Last week, Oklahoma Human Services (OHS) confirmed that SNAP benefits will be suspended in the state effective November 1. OHS encouraged SNAP-dependent families to lock their EBT cards when not in use, making it clear that electronically stolen funds would not be returned.
Oklahoma officials said late Friday they will vote Monday to potentially give $1 million a week to Oklahoma’s food banks, because Oklahoma Voice reported,
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt (R) said in a joint statement with legislative leadership that the money will come from the state’s $7.8 million emergency fund.
Mississippi similarly told its more than 350,000 SNAP beneficiaries that they would not be paid in November if SNAP funds ran out. As WLBT reported This week, it doesn’t appear the state government has any plans to intervene on this point, which Gov. Tate Reeves (R-Miss.) acknowledged.
“Sadly, there is no easy way for state government to step in and pay for the millions of dollars in losses caused by this shutdown orchestrated by Washington Democrats,” Reeves said in a statement. statement,
