Federal food benefits and preschool aid to run dry starting Saturday if shutdown continues

Cliff Notes

• The U.S. government shutdown could lead to the depletion of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits starting Saturday, affecting approximately 10 million low-income households reliant on these funds for basic food purchases. States are responding with varied strategies, but not all can find alternative funding sources.
• In addition to SNAP, programmes that support early childhood education, such as Head Start, risk losing federal funding from November 1. More than 130 programmes may cease operations, jeopardising educational resources for thousands of vulnerable children.
• The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) has received temporary funding but is projected to run out by early November, leaving millions of low-income mothers and young children without essential nutrition assistance.

Federal food benefits and preschool aid to run dry starting Saturday if shutdown continues

A California‘s SNAP benefits shopper pushes a cart through a supermarket in Bellflower, Calif.

Federal funds could begin running dry Saturday that help tens of millions of Americans to buy food for their families and send their toddlers to preschool 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 the following week.

Barring a resolution to the shutdown, the U.S. will have a gaping hole in its safety net, particularly for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps about one in eight Americans buy groceries. Benefits under the program known as SNAP run dry starting Saturday.

Funding for a group of Head Start preschool programs and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, known as WIC, also could run out soon.

Here’s a look at what would happen to 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 used only for buying groceries at participating stores and farmers markets. The debit cards are recharged in slightly different ways in each state. Not everyone receives their benefits on the first day of the month, though many beneficiaries get them early in the month.

The average monthly benefit is $187 per person. Most beneficiaries have incomes at or below the poverty level.

There’s also uncertainty about whether benefits left on cards on Nov. 1 can be used. Arkansas officials suggest people who have balances on their cards should use the funds this month on shelf-stable foods. Missouri and Pennsylvania officials expect previous benefits will remain accessible and are telling beneficiaries to save for November if they can.

President Donald Trump’s administration has rejected the idea of using some $5 billion in contingency money to keep providing the federal cash for food, saying that reserve is limited to expenses such as help after disasters.

That decision contrasts with a report late last month by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that said a contingency fund could cover SNAP benefits if government funding lapsed.

Democratic lawmakers and advocacy groups have urged the Trump administration to tap into that fund to provide partial benefits into November.

Some states seeking to fill void of SNAP benefit cuts

Officials in Louisiana, Vermont and Virginia have pledged to backfill food aid for recipients even while the shutdown stalls the federal program, though state-level details haven’t been announced.

In Republican-led Louisiana, the House has voted unanimously for a resolution urging the state’s health department to use $150 million in its budget to avoid an interruption in SNAP benefits to nearly 800,000 residents. The measure awaits Senate action, and Republican Gov. Jeff Landry has said it’s 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 on Monday that she is “fast tracking” $30 million in emergency food assistance funds to help keep food pantries stocked.

Officials from some other states have said they looked into backfilling SNAP benefits with state funds but found they couldn’t because states have no way to load funds onto recipients’ cards.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California deployed the National Guard to help his state’s food banks, though some have declined to use the troops. He is also quickly making $80 million available for food banks.

The USDA advised Friday that states won’t be reimbursed for funding the benefits.

The Trump administration is blaming Democrats, who say they will not agree to reopen the government until Republicans negotiate with them on extending expiring subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. Republicans say Democrats must first agree to reopen the government before negotiation.

Early childhood education

More than 130 Head Start preschool programs won’t receive their annual federal grants on Nov. 1 if the government remains shut down, according to the National Head Start Association.

Centers are scrambling to assess how long they can stay open, since nearly all their funding comes from federal taxpayers. Head Start provides education and child care for the nation’s neediest preschoolers. When a center is closed, families may have to miss work or school.

With new grants on hold, a half-dozen Head Start programs have already missed federal disbursements they were expecting Oct. 1 but have stayed open with fast-dwindling reserves or with help from local governments. All told, more than 65,000 seats at Head Start programs across the country could be affected.

Food aid for mothers and young children

Another food aid program supporting millions of low-income mothers and young children already received an infusion to keep the program open through the end of October, but even that money is set to run out early next month.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children helps more than 6 million low-income mothers, young children and expectant parents purchase nutritious staples such as fruits and vegetables, low-fat milk and infant formula.

The program, known as WIC, was at risk of running out of money in October because of the government shutdown, which occurred right before it was scheduled to receive its annual appropriation. The Trump administration reassigned $300 million in unspent tariff proceeds from the Department of Agriculture to keep the program afloat. But it was only enough money for a few weeks.

Now, states say they could run out of WIC money as early as Nov. 8.