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States warn SNAP benefits may stop in November if government shutdown continues
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/government-shutdown-snap-benefits-delayed-usda/
States are warning struggling Americans who rely on food stamps to pay for groceries that they may miss out on benefits come November.
"Starting October 16, SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] benefits will not be paid until the federal government shutdown ends and funds are released to PA," reads a notice from the Pennsylvania state website.
New Jersey, Maryland, New York and Texas are among the other states that have issued similar notices.
The wave of announcements come after the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the federal food stamps program, issued a letter to state agencies on Oct. 10 saying that if the lapse in appropriations continues, there will be "insufficient funds" to pay full November SNAP benefits.
Reached for comment, the White House referred CBS News to the USDA, which then shared the letter it sent to states. Both declined to comment on what a lapse in funding could mean for the millions of Americans who rely on the program.
Advocates and SNAP recipients have warned the effects of being cut off from nutrition assistance could be devastating.
Gina Plata-Nino, interim director for SNAP at the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), a nonprofit focused on ending hunger, said delayed SNAP benefits would mean individuals have to make extreme choices such as whether to pay their rent or feed their kids. Many recipients, she said, are living paycheck to paycheck and that's the reason they depend on SNAP.
According to the USDA, 73% of SNAP recipients had a gross monthly income at or below 100% of the poverty level in fiscal year 2023.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/government-shutdown-snap-benefits-delayed-usda/
States are warning struggling Americans who rely on food stamps to pay for groceries that they may miss out on benefits come November.
"Starting October 16, SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] benefits will not be paid until the federal government shutdown ends and funds are released to PA," reads a notice from the Pennsylvania state website.
New Jersey, Maryland, New York and Texas are among the other states that have issued similar notices.
The wave of announcements come after the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the federal food stamps program, issued a letter to state agencies on Oct. 10 saying that if the lapse in appropriations continues, there will be "insufficient funds" to pay full November SNAP benefits.
Reached for comment, the White House referred CBS News to the USDA, which then shared the letter it sent to states. Both declined to comment on what a lapse in funding could mean for the millions of Americans who rely on the program.
Advocates and SNAP recipients have warned the effects of being cut off from nutrition assistance could be devastating.
Gina Plata-Nino, interim director for SNAP at the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), a nonprofit focused on ending hunger, said delayed SNAP benefits would mean individuals have to make extreme choices such as whether to pay their rent or feed their kids. Many recipients, she said, are living paycheck to paycheck and that's the reason they depend on SNAP.
According to the USDA, 73% of SNAP recipients had a gross monthly income at or below 100% of the poverty level in fiscal year 2023.
