600,000-plus Hoosiers at risk as SNAP benefits set to run out
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The funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP, is set to run out Saturday as the government shutdown that's already disrupted air travel and other federal programs is expected to stretch into November.
Why it matters: Food banks are sounding the alarm that they will not have enough resources to support the expected influx of the 42 million Americans who receive SNAP benefits, upping the likelihood that some families will go hungry.
What they're saying: "For many, the shutdown is affecting their ability to feed their families at the worst possible time, when grocery prices continue to rise and food insecurity rates are at their highest in a decade," Fred Glass, president and CEO of Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana, said in a statement.
- Gleaners is expecting a dramatic increase in need when the more than 600,000 Hoosiers who rely on SNAP lose their benefits.
- Another approximately 156,000 Hoosiers receive assistance from the Women, Infants and Children program, which is also expected to run out of funding at the end of the month.
The fine print: EBT cards — used by recipients to spend SNAP funds — are expected to keep working and can still be used if they have leftover funds from previous months.
- However, experts said that many people spend their benefits during the month they're issued — so this is unlikely to help many.
State of play: So far, Indiana hasn't announced plans to help cover the gap.
- Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith said the state is monitoring the situation closely.
- "I think the governor, my office … we're kind of going through every possible mechanism of creating some sort of relief," he told Axios, saying he couldn't share what those ideas might include.
- "We've got to get Washington open," he added.
Zoom out: States are handling the lack of SNAP benefit funding differently.
- Virginia declared a state of emergency so it can use funds to pay for benefits.
- Colorado Gov. Jared Polis asked his state for up to $10 million to support food banks.
The latest: Twenty-five Democratic-led states sued the Trump administration on Tuesday to force it to resume SNAP payments as the government shutdown drags on.
The other side: "Democrats chose to shut down the government knowing full well that SNAP would soon run out of funds," an OMB spokesperson told Axios. "It doesn't have to be this way, and it's sad they are using the families who rely on it as pawns."