Federal funding that helps tens of millions of Americans buy food for their families and send their juvenile children to preschool could dry up on Saturday if Congress doesn’t reach a deal by then to end the U.S. government shutdown.
Funding for another program that helps mothers care for their newborns could run out next week.
Unless there is a solution to the shutdown, the U.S. will have a gaping hole in its safety net, particularly when it comes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps about one in eight Americans shop for groceries. Benefits from the program, known as SNAP, will expire starting Saturday.
Funding for a group of Head Start preschool programs and a special nutritional supplement program for women, infants and children, known as WIC, also could soon run out.
Here’s a look at what would happen with each program.
SNAP benefits could leave millions without money for food
Lower-income families who qualify for SNAP receive debit cards loaded each month by the federal government that are used only for grocery purchases at participating stores and farmers markets. Debit cards are loaded in slightly different ways in each state. Not everyone receives their benefits on the first day of the month, although many recipients receive them at the beginning of the month.
The average monthly benefit is $187 per person. Most recipients have incomes at or below the poverty line.
There is also uncertainty about whether the benefits remaining on the cards as of November 1st can be used. Arkansas officials suggest that people with balances on their cards should apply the money for nonperishable foods this month. Officials in Missouri and Pennsylvania expect prior benefits to remain accessible and are urging recipients to save for November if possible.
President Donald Trump’s administration has rejected the idea of ​​using about $5 billion in emergency funds to keep the federal coffers available for food, saying that reserve would be restricted to spending such as disaster relief.
That decision contrasts with a U.S. Department of Agriculture report tardy last month that said an emergency fund could cover SNAP benefits if federal funding runs out.
Democratic lawmakers and advocacy groups have called on the Trump administration to tap that fund to provide partial benefits through November.
Some states are trying to repeal cuts to SNAP benefits
Officials in Louisiana, Vermont and Virginia have pledged to replenish food aid for recipients even if the federal program is blocked by the shutdown, but details at the state level have not been disclosed.
In Republican-led Louisiana, the House of Representatives voted unanimously in favor of a resolution calling on the state’s Department of Health to apply $150 million in its budget to avoid cutting off SNAP benefits for nearly 800,000 residents. The measure is awaiting action in the Senate, and Republican Gov. Jeff Landry has said it is a top priority.
More funding for food banks and pantries is planned in states including New Hampshire, Minnesota, California, New Mexico, Connecticut and New York, where Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday she is “accelerating” $30 million in emergency food funding to keep pantries stocked with food.
Officials in some other states said they had tried to top up SNAP benefits with state funds, but found that was not possible because states had no way to load funds onto recipients’ cards.
California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom deployed the National Guard to support his state’s food banks, although some have opposed the deployment of the troops. He’s also quickly providing $80 million to food banks.
The USDA said Friday that states will not receive reimbursement for funding the benefits.
The Trump administration is blaming Democrats who say they won’t agree to reopen the government until Republicans negotiate with them to extend expiring subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. Republicans say Democrats must first agree to reopen the government before negotiations.
Early childhood education
According to the National Head Start Association, more than 130 Head Start preschool programs will not receive their annual federal grants on November 1 if the government remains closed.
The centers are scrambling to estimate how long they can stay open since nearly all of their funding comes from federal taxpayers. Head Start provides education and child care to the nation’s neediest preschool children. If a center is closed, families may have to miss work or school.
With up-to-date grants on hold, a half-dozen Head Start programs have already missed federal payouts expected Oct. 1 but have remained open due to rapidly dwindling reserves or with assist from local governments. In total, more than 65,000 seats in Head Start programs across the country could be affected.
Food aid for mothers and juvenile children
Another food assistance program that supports millions of low-income mothers and juvenile children has already received a grant to keep the program running through the end of October, but even that money is expected to run out early next month.
The Special Nutritional Supplements Program for Women, Infants and Children helps more than 6 million low-income mothers, infants and expectant parents purchase nutritious staples such as fruits and vegetables, low-fat milk and infant formula.
The program, known as WIC, was in danger of running out of money in October due to the government shutdown that occurred shortly before annual appropriations were scheduled to be allocated. The Trump administration shifted $300 million in unspent tariff proceeds from the Agriculture Department to keep the program running. But the money was only enough for a few weeks.
Now states say they could run out of WIC money as early as November 8th.
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Mattise reported from Nashville, Tennessee. AP contributors include Moriah Balingit in Portland, Oregon; Geoff Mulvihill in Haddonfield, New Jersey; David Collins in Hartford, Connecticut; Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis; Anthony Izaguirre in Albany, New York; Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Sara Cline in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Sophie Austin in Sacramento, California.
