It is Day 28 of the government shutdown, and the largest federal food assistance program is now in the crosshairs.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) signaled on Friday that programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) have run out of money, resulting in food benefits for 42 million families ceasing on November 1. Reportedly, the USDA will not pull from contingency emergency funds to extend SNAP funds during the government shutdown. This reflects a recent change from earlier this year.

The position is a reversal from the department’s earlier stance, according to a since-deleted copy of the USDA’s Sept. 30 shutdown plan that said the department would use its multi-year contingency fund to continue paying Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits during the ongoing shutdown. 

 

SNAP has about $6 billion in the contingency fund — short of the roughly $9 billion needed to cover a full month of the program, putting November benefits in jeopardy.

Nationwide, 62% of SNAP participants are families with children or elder family members, and 38% are working families, such as those who work full-time and do not receive any other form of government assistance.

So, it’s not just about single mothers and welfare recipients. With the economy still stabilizing and the high cost of rents, mortgages, and utilities requiring serious correction, many families depend upon these benefits to offset the higher cost of living in other areas. Everyday Americans will be adversely affected, especially women who work two or three jobs, but find it difficult to make ends meet.

Data from 2024 show a range of both red and blue state citizens as part of this net, and the regions of the nation that receive these benefits are surprising. 

  • One in five D.C. residents receives SNAP benefits. That’s 137,500 or 20% of the district’s population. 
  • D.C. is followed closely by Louisiana at 847,100 (or 18%) of the state. 
  • Alabama and Illinois are tied with 15% of residents receiving SNAP, followed by Florida (13%) and Delaware (11%).

New Hampshire, Utah, and Wyoming have the lowest percentage of their population receiving government assistance.

New Mexico has the highest percentage of population (21%) recipients of government food assistance, or one in five. That is 451,200 of the 2.1 million New Mexico residents dependent upon this program.

How to Fix SNAP

As Independent Women’s Center for Economic Opportunity director, Patrice Onwuka, wrote:

Conservatives did not create this problem, but they are looking for ways to solve it. While the Left holds out for healthcare subsidies for the wealthy, we hope President Trump and Republicans in Congress can find a way to ensure more Americans don’t go hungry, especially as we head into the Thanksgiving holiday season.

In the long run, state-level intervention and correction are needed. Should the shutdown continue past October 31, states should take this opportunity to dismantle federal control of SNAP programs and empower local enterprises to serve their communities. 

It has already been baked into the One Big Beautiful Law (OBBL) that in 2028, states will have to pick up more of the price tag for these supplemental programs, particularly those states that exhibit a high erroneous payment rate—recipients receiving too little or too much in SNAP benefits. 

Greater reform will be required to minimize these errors, so it would benefit public officials and their constituents to go the extra mile and create programs that are less dependent upon the vagaries of the federal apparatus.

State agencies could create networks with churches, food banks, and other non-profits to bridge that gap. Around 6% of Kansas’ population receives government assistance. That low number is due in part to the narrow requirements the state has for applying for and maintaining SNAP benefits. But the real hero is an organization called My Kansas Food Bank, which serves the state in ensuring citizens are less food insecure and less dependent on the federal government. 

In a recent phone conversation, Community Relations Manager Debi Kreutzman said, 

I can tell you that throughout our food bank network, we cover 85 counties [Kansas has 105] and have over 200 partner pantry agencies, as well as other programs that we work with, like our ‘Food for Kiss’ weekend backpack program, our Senior Box program, things like that.”

In the upper northeast corner of the state, the organization partners with Harvesters and Second Harvesters, which are also active in the state of Missouri. My Kansas Food Bank relies on grants and donations and receives little assistance from the federal government:

Most of our funding is from either individuals, grants that we write, et cetera. The federal funding that we have comes in the form of reimbursable [money] in the CSFP (Commodity Supplemental Food Program) program. We’re reimbursed for our cost up to a certain amount for distributing those boxes.

 

Same way with the summer food program, USDA summer food program. We’re reimbursed based on [the] number of meals served. So we are not, we don’t receive federal funds up front. It’s a reimbursement program.

This reflects how states can remain accountable for the assistance they do receive: The organization is only reimbursed for the meals served and the boxes distributed—nothing more, nothing less. This is an excellent firewall against waste and corruption.

Utah only receives 5% of SNAP funding. The non-profit Utah Food Bank covers all 29 counties in the state, and partners with 309 organizations to combat food insecurity. President and CEO Ginette Bott says her organization is already ramping up to meet the possible increase in food bank demand should SNAP benefits cease for Utahians. Utah Food Bank meets Utahians’ needs through fundraising and what Bott says is “great support from the citizens of Utah and communities.”

Some states—such as Louisiana, Iowa, and Ohio—are moving to fill in the gap until the federal shutdown is resolved. Other states appear to be at a loss on how to ensure their families do not suffer from food insecurity. 

Each state working to create nimble mechanisms that place more power in the communities and state hands could mitigate Americans being put in jeopardy from lengthy shutdowns.