Navigating Food Access: Strategies for When SNAP Benefits Are Reduced

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(NEXSTAR) – With the clock ticking toward a potential government shutdown, over 40 million Americans face the prospect of losing federal food aid as early as this Saturday.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) might not receive funding in November if the government shutdown persists, according to warnings from the United States Department of Agriculture. This program is a crucial source of food support for roughly 1 in 8 individuals across the country.

Many families with low or no income depend heavily on the monthly benefits provided by SNAP, which are typically issued via an EBT card. The amount each household receives is determined by their income level and family size, with an average distribution of $187 per person each month.

As the threat of a government shutdown looms, food banks are bracing for an increase in demand, anticipating a pause in federal food assistance.

How to find food assistance when SNAP funds expire

While states like Virginia are strategizing to utilize emergency funds to replenish EBT cards, many other states are reallocating resources to support food banks or advising residents to seek help from charitable organizations.

You may also want to check your state’s SNAP page for more information. Since each state is handling the shutdown differently, there may be more funding or resources added near you.

Will there be enough donations to meet demand?

Even before SNAP benefits dried up, food banks and food pantries were already seeing an increase in need.

Central Christian Church’s food pantry in downtown Indianapolis scrambled Saturday to accommodate around twice as many people as it normally serves in a day.

“There’s an increased demand. And we know it’s been happening really since the economy has downturned,” volunteer Beth White said, adding that with an interruption in funding for SNAP, “it’s going to continue to get worse for folks.”

Several states, including California, Connecticut, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island and West Virginia, are funneling millions toward food banks and nonprofits for November, but there are concerns it still won’t be enough.

“The amount of food that SNAP provides has been estimated to be nine times larger than the entire food bank network combined, so to think that we at food banks alone can be the sole resource to pick up this slack for government’s failure in this moment, it’s very unreasonable,” said George Matysik, executive director of Philadelphia food bank Share Food Program, in an interview with USA Today.

Some community organizers are warning of long lines and low supplies. Matysik said he’s worried their stock will run out entirely.

“I’ve been here seven years,” he said. “I’ve never seen our warehouses as empty as they are right now.”

“When you take SNAP away, the implications are cataclysmic,” Feeding America CEO Claire Babineaux-Fontenot said. “I assume people are assuming that somebody’s going to stop it before it gets too bad. Well, it’s already too bad. And it’s getting worse.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.