Will you get SNAP benefits in November? What happens next
Millions of Americans relying on government assistance to put food on the table are facing the question of how they will access food next month as a government shutdown continues.
The United States Department of Agriculture issued a notice earlier this month to state agencies warning the federal Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program (SNAP) funds would lapse if the government shutdown persisted — and it has.
SNAP, formerly referred to as food stamps, is a federally funded program that provides low-income families with benefits that help them access food.
"If the current lapse in appropriations continues, there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits for approximately 42 million individuals across the Nation," the USDA wrote in a letter signed by SNAP development director Sasha Gersten-Paal, obtained by USA TODAY .
As of October. 24, the government shutdown is ongoing, with more than half the country signaling their state will not receive benefits for November — including Massachusetts.
According to POLITICO , 25 states confirmed they were issuing notices informing the public they won't receive SNAP benefits next month.
In Massachusetts alone, more than 1 million low-income families will lose access to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, Gov. Maura Healey announced.
She added the Commonwealth cannot cover the shortfall in funds needed to compensate for the lack of federal government aid to SNAP recipients.
"As of the end of next week, SNAP benefits are going to be frozen, they go away," Healey told reporters earlier this week , as reported by CBSNews.
"The federal government provides about $240 million a month in SNAP benefits to Massachusetts residents. There's no way that the state can make up for that."
State Treasurer Deb Goldberg sounded the alarm on Thursday, warning of a "cascade of emergency after emergency" if the funds do dry up.
In Massachusetts, 1 in 6 people receive SNAP or WIC (Women, Infants and Children) benefits, Goldberg said during a press conference held by nonprofit For The Long Term.
Of the approximately 1.1 million state residents who receive such benefits, one-third are children and one-fourth are seniors over 60. Twenty-eight percent are people with disabilities.
"This shutdown threatens to push them even further into not just an economic crisis, but food is essential to health, and that is something that people really need to wrap their heads around," Goldberg said.
If SNAP funds don't flow to Massachusetts in November, that will equate to $225 million of lost food, she added.
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