The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will be delayed for the month of November as a result of the federal government shutdown and funding lapse, according to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.
This does not include WIC, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.
SNAP helps low-income individuals or families cover essential food-related expenses and has benefited more than 41.7 million Americans, or about 12.3% of the total population in the U.S. In Idaho, 6.5% of the population received SNAP benefits in 2024.In Latah County, 1,836 people, or 4.65% of the county’s population, received SNAP benefits.
The U.S. government has been shut down for four weeks due to lawmakers in Congress failing to reach an agreement on funding legislation. General funding will not be available until the government resumes operations.
President Donald Trump has decided not to use backup funds for SNAP benefits.
Attorney generals for 22 states, including Washington state, the District of Colombia and three state governors, have sued the Trump administration for “illegally suspending SNAP benefits.”
The USDA said contingency funds are not “legally available” due to congressional Democrats’ rejection of a “clean continuing resolution” over the GOP funding bill. Instead, contingency funds will be used toward the Disaster SNAP program, which supplies food benefits for individuals in natural disasters.
Hurricane Melissa has the potential to reach Florida, so the USDA has decided to keep funds readily available for the Disaster SNAP program instead of the SNAP program.
The USDA said pulling funding from other programs, such as WIC, would take away school lunches and formula for children.
Lawmakers, Supreme Court justices and federal judges will still receive pay during the government shut down, as well as the roughly 830,000 federal workers whose compensation does not rely on annual appropriations from Congress.
The Trump administration announced it would use about $8 billion in Pentagon research and development funds to cover the Oct. 15 payrolls of 2 million active-duty and reserve military members. There will not be enough money for the next distribution at the end of the month, according to CNN.
In addition, the Trump administration will pay 70,000 law enforcement personnel in the Department of Homeland Security, including in Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Secret Service and other divisions, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on X.
In the interim, SNAP recipients are advised to visit food pantries and soup kitchens.
Food banks in Moscow include:
- Vandal Food Pantry Shoup Hall, Room 105; Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
- College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Food Pantry: Agricultural Biotechnology Building lounge
- UI Mobile Food Pantry: Parking Lot 60, east of the Moscow Intermodal Transit Center; the first Wednesday of every month starting at noon
- Moscow Food Bank: 110 N Polk St.; Tuesday-Friday, 2-4 p.m.
- Westside Food Pantry: 730 W. Pullman Rd. No. 3; hours dependent on volunteer schedules
Those looking to donate food or time can visit the Idaho Foodbank at idahofoodbank.org.
Scarlet Herway can be reached at [email protected].
Merrillyn
This is sad that for whatever the money issue is no matter what side is at fault that cause of them a lot of people that are elderly or with kids will suffer from this.