Federal government to issue partial SNAP benefits amid shutdown

Cindy Evenson and Jack Stevens typically drive their Toyota Sienna van approximately 40 minutes from their home in Springdale to north Spokane in search of a deal when they shop for groceries.

“Almost all of the time I come to Winco, because they’ve got better prices than other places,” Stevens said just before 3 p.m. Monday.

Both Evenson and Stevens rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to help pay for food – aid that has been left up in the air during the ongoing government shutdown. The regular federal funding used to administer the benefits – roughly $8 billion a month, or an average of $187 per recipient – ran out last week, sparking multiple federal lawsuits that sought to force the federal government to use contingency funding for the program.

As lawyers for the federal government and a coalition of states have spent much of the past week arguing whether contingency funds must be used to help the 42 million Americans who rely on the program, the uncertainty has left Evenson to worry about how she would make her money stretch further.

“I’m a nervous wreck,” Evenson said. “I’m probably not going to pay the light bill so that I can buy food.”

On Monday, the federal government said it will use contingency funds to distribute partial food benefits.

In a court filing Monday morning, an official for the U.S. Department of Agriculture wrote the agency will “deplete SNAP contingency funds completely and provide reduced SNAP benefits” for November.

According to court filings, the agency has approximately $4.7 billion in contingency funding. It is not currently known how much the 540,000 households in Washington that receive benefits through the SNAP will get, though it will not be their regular amount.

As she left the Safeway on Northwest Boulevard, Lori Gilmore said the president should “steal the money needed for food stamps from the same pot of gold he stole the money to send to Argentina.” Gilmore appeared to reference a recent announcement the U.S. would effectively loan the South American country $20 billion.

“Until he takes care of America first, he’s not my president,” Gilmore said.

In his ruling, federal Judge John J. McConnell Jr., of Rhode Island, wrote that there “is no question that the congressionally approved contingency funds must be used now because of the shutdown.”

McConnell wrote in his ruling that partial payments must be distributed by Wednesday. For Stevens, the partial payment will be “a lot of help,” but covering his bills remains a concern.

“Like she said, she isn’t going to pay our power bill to buy groceries. And we’re going to have to put our gas money into buying food, so we’ll be stuck out in Springdale without any gas,” Stevens said. “Because we’ll going to be spending it all on food. It’s going to be hard.”

Norah West, a spokesperson for the Washington state Department of Social and Health Services, said Monday that the agency is working to understand the court’s order and is awaiting additional guidance from the federal government.

West previously said recipients in Washington received more than $173 million in benefits in September.

Standing outside the Safeway on Northwest Boulevard, Benjamin Maixner said he would look to donate to his local food banks if the lack of funding for SNAP benefits continues. For Maixner, the use of funding as a bargaining chip during the ongoing shutdown is “really unfortunate.”

“When it came to paying the troops, it seems that he was able to, no problem,” Maixner said. “And it’s like, well when there are starving poor people, it sort of showed this particular administration’s disdain for the poor.”

Last week, Gov. Bob Ferguson announced he would direct $2.2 million per week for additional funding for food banks in the state if a deal is not reached by Nov. 1. The funds would be transferred from the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services to the Washington State Department of Agriculture.

Amid the delay, Evenson and Stevens are among the Americans who have turned to local food banks in search of help.

“Thank God there’s some food banks around,” Stevens said. “Hopefully, they have enough for everybody.”