SNAP: Millions of Americans at risk of losing food stamps in November

About 42 million people are at risk of losing essential food assistance in November due to the federal government shutdown. And it’s unclear whether the Trump administration will step in to find the funds needed to continue paying benefits, as it has for other priorities.

The food stamp program will run out of money in two weeks, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told reporters at the White House on Thursday.

“So you’re talking about millions and millions of vulnerable families, hungry families who won’t have access to these programs because of this shutdown,” she said.

Like others in the Trump administration, Rollins placed blame on Democrats, posting on Thursday that they were putting “their political agenda ahead of the food security of American families.”

Democrats have argued that Republicans are to blame for their refusal to negotiate a spending deal that includes extending Obamacare’s expiring enhanced premium subsidies.

Rollins’ comments came a week after the U.S. Department of Agriculture told states there would not be enough money to pay full food stamp benefits in November if the federal funding gap persists. The agency asked states to suspend November payments until further notice.

About one in eight Americans receive help buying food through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, the formal name for food stamps. A key pillar of the national safety net, the program provides enrollees with an average monthly benefit of $188 per person, starting in May.

SNAP, the nation’s largest hunger-relief program, has a reserve fund of about $6 billion, but benefits in November are expected to total about $8 billion. The USDA Closure Plan indicates that multi-year emergency funding is available to fund lapse benefits.

Asked if the USDA intends to make at least a partial benefit payment next month, a senior agency official pointed to Rollins’ comments that funding for the program will run out in two weeks.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul blasted the Trump administration for asking states to stop the process of providing monthly benefits.

“This is a deliberate and unprecedented decision intended to inflict pain on millions of hard-working American families. The federal government should instead do everything in its power to prioritize our most vulnerable and make funds available for this essential program,” Hochul, a Democrat, said in a statement Friday.

The food stamp program is the second nutrition assistance lifeline that risks running out of money amid the ongoing standoff on Capitol Hill between Republicans and Democrats over approval of a federal spending package for the current fiscal year. The impasse forced the federal government to shut down on October 1.

Federal worker: shutdown “takes food off my table”

As the government shutdown extends into a third week, many federal workers will not receive pay if the shutdown continues. CNN’s René Marsh speaks with a family who will have to choose between putting food on the table or paying for their car.

Federal worker: shutdown “takes food off my table”

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WIC, which provides food assistance to nearly 7 million pregnant women, new mothers and young children, was on the verge of running out of funding earlier this month. But the Trump administration shifted $300 million in customs revenue typically used to fund child nutrition programs to keep WIC operating. The infusion should be enough to cover benefits for the rest of the month, according to the National WIC Association.

However, these tariff revenues are not enough to also strengthen the food stamp program for November, a senior USDA official told CNN.

The looming lack of funding is already forcing 17 states to stop accepting new food stamp applications. This is because their systems would require them to send partial payments in October along with November benefits. Other states are able to separate payments for the two months and distribute October aid to new enrollees.

This isn’t the first time food stamps have been at risk during a shutdown. During the record standoff that began in December 2018, the USDA initially said benefits would run out at the end of January. But the agency then said it would use a provision allowing it to make mandatory payments within 30 days of an expiration of government funding to cover the February payments. This workaround was ultimately not necessary since the closure ended at the end of January.

Food stamps provide critical assistance to families who need help being able to eat, said Gina Plata-Nino, acting SNAP director at the Food Research & Action Center, an advocacy group.

November profits are especially strong as Thanksgiving approaches, she said. And food pantries can’t fill the gap because they’re already under pressure.

The administration should act urgently to protect food stamp benefits, as it did with its other priorities during the standoff, said Ty Jones Cox, vice president for food assistance at the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

“We cannot let households who need help buying food become another casualty of this shutdown,” she said.