SNAP by the numbers: Almost a third of Mass. recipients are children

Nearly a third of those receiving federal food assistance in Massachusetts are children, according to the administration of Gov. Maura Healey.

With the federal government still shut down as of Oct. 31, funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is set to dry up the following day — though a ruling by a federal judge could change that .

SNAP provides benefits to low-income households to help buy groceries.

The Trump administration announced it would not tap about $5 billion in contingency funds to keep benefits active in November, the Associated Press reported.

Healey provided numbers on who receives SNAP benefits in the state.

In Massachusetts, 32% of SNAP recipients are children, 31% are people with disabilities and 26% are senior citizens, according to the Healey administration .

Among Massachusetts’s veteran population, 21,000 are SNAP recipients, based on data from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities . Healey characterized that as 1 in 10 veterans in the state receiving SNAP benefits.

As of September, there are 1,061,460 individuals in Massachusetts who receive SNAP benefits, according to data from the state’s Department of Transitional Assistance.

The top 10 communities with the highest percentage of its population who receive SNAP benefits are:

1. Springfield: 47.4%

2. Holyoke: 43.3%

3. Lawrence: 41.7%

4. Southbridge: 35.6%

5. Fall River: 34.3%

6. New Bedford: 34.2%

7. Brockton: 33.6%

8. North Adams: 33.5%

9. Fitchburg: 30.3%

10. Chicopee: 29.6%

With SNAP benefits soon to run dry, state and local officials have been seeking solutions to try and preserve or supplement the benefits.

A lawsuit against the Trump administration filed by 25 states was heard by Federal Judge Indira Talwani on Thursday . The judge is set to rule on the lawsuit Friday.

The Healey administration announced Thursday they would allocate $4 million to the state’s food banks. The administration also launched a new “ resource hub ,” which features information on how families facing hunger can seek help, options for people and businesses to offer help and a digital map showing how many people need SNAP benefits in Massachusetts.

At the local level, the City of Worcester announced Thursday the creation of a fund whose money will supplement SNAP benefits.

More than $1 million has been provided for the newly established fund, which will be overseen by the social services organization, the United Way of Central Massachusetts, City Manager Eric D. Batista told an audience at City Hall Thursday afternoon.

United Way will work with other organizations, such as the Worcester Community Action Center, to help determine people who need SNAP assistance and use the funds to help supplement the money they previously received from the federal government, United Way CEO Tim Garvin explained to MassLive.

“We are going to give some funds to food pantries because not everybody who’s hungry has SNAP,” Garvin said.

Additionally, $150,000 will be set aside for Worcester Public School families while $100,000 will be allocated to the Worcester Community Action Center for heating assistance, Batista said.

“As a municipality, we will continue to come to the table and do everything we can to keep our most vulnerable residents fed and warm this winter,” said Batista.

The latest from MassLive

• Does Mike Vrabel feel the burden of the Patriots past? His answer was a whopper

• Meet the candidate: Bob Cantin faces off with incumbent McCarthy for School Committee at-large

• Meet the candidate: Douglas Girouard for Ward 8 City Council

• Soap opera star reveals cancer diagnosis, break from long-running show

• Meet the candidate: Darrin Breault for Ward 3 City Councilor

Read the original article on MassLive . Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here .