Nearly 42 million people — or about 1 in 8 Americans — receive SNAP (short for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps) each month to buy groceries. This includes children, older adults, people with disabilities, and working families struggling with low wages or reduced hours.
It’s the nation’s most important anti-hunger program, but this weekend, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed that SNAP benefits for November will not go out in light of the ongoing government shutdown.
“Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01,” says a banner on the agency’s website.
Food banks and anti-hunger advocates say they’re stunned that, as the shutdown drags into its fourth week, Americans who rely on food assistance could be caught in the crosshairs.
A pause will “force families who are living paycheck to paycheck to make these impossible decisions,” said Bill Lee, the executive director of Martha’s Kitchen, a nonprofit that provides nearly 250,000 meals each month to those in need in San Jose, California.
