“The new notice comes after the Trump administration said it would not tap roughly $5 billion in contingency funds to keep benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly referred to as SNAP, flowing into November. That program helps about 1 in 8 Americans buy groceries,” CBS News reported. “‘Bottom line, the well has run dry,’ the USDA notice says. ‘At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats.’”
“The shutdown, which began on Oct. 1, is now the second-longest on record,” CBS News reported. “While the Republican administration took steps leading up to the shutdown to ensure SNAP benefits were paid this month, the cutoff would expand the impact of the impasse to a wider swath of Americans — and some of those most in need — unless a political resolution is found in just a few days.”
“Democratic lawmakers have written to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins requesting that she use contingency funds to cover the bulk of next month’s benefits,” CBS News reported. “But a USDA memo that surfaced Friday says ‘contingency funds are not legally available to cover regular benefits.’ The document says the money is reserved for such things as helping people in disaster areas. The memo cited Hurricane Melissa, which has strengthened into a major hurricane, as an example of why it’s important to have the money available to mobilize quickly in the event of a disaster.”
Reuters’ Leah Douglas and P.J. Huffstutter reported that “nine food banks and anti-hunger groups in eight states told Reuters they will struggle to absorb higher demand if November SNAP benefits are not distributed. The shutdown, now the second-longest in history, has prevented Congress from funding the benefits, which reach more than 41 million Americans.”
“Hunger in the U.S. is already on a multi-year rise. The administration of President Donald Trump has cut some federal food bank funding and hiked SNAP work requirements, which could push some people off the program,” Douglas and Huffstutter reported. “States warned this week that hunger could surge if SNAP benefits lapse. The shutdown also threatens benefits for nearly 7 million participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, known as WIC.”
“Food banks have already seen record demand in recent years as food price inflation and the long tail of the COVID-19 pandemic strain household budgets,” Douglas and Huffstutter reported. “More than 50 million people received food from food banks, pantries and other charitable sources in 2023, compared to roughly 40 million in 2019, according to Feeding America, a national food bank network.”
