Shutdown puts food access at risk in Arkansas
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Food assistance benefits could be delayed or disrupted in November if the shutdown continues, Arkansas Department of Human Services spokesperson Gavin Lesnick tells Axios.
Why it matters: About 243,600 low-income Arkansans, including about 8,960 Benton County residents and 9,410 Washington County residents, rely on the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to afford food, according to DHS data.
- This comes as grocery prices have risen. Plus, Arkansas has one of the highest rates of food insecurity in the nation.
Threat level: Private charities and food banks cannot fill the gap if SNAP benefits stop, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports.
- The Northwest Arkansas Food Bank has seen more people "from more walks of life" coming for food because of increased housing prices and inflation, the newspaper reported.
The latest: The 42 million Americans on SNAP will not receive their benefits starting Saturday unless Congress agrees to a deal. The U.S. Agriculture Department says it can't use contingency funds to pay for food stamps during the government shutdown — and that states won't be reimbursed if they cover the expenses on their own, Axios' Marc Caputo writes.
- Contingency funds could cover two-thirds of the shortfall, according to Democrats, but the USDA says there's less money in the fund and it's only for emergencies like hurricanes and floods.
How it works: SNAP recipients receive benefits once a month. The date varies, and benefits generally begin going out on the 4th, Lesnick confirmed.
- DHS recommends that those who have accrued benefits from previous months on their account use them to buy shelf-stable foods because the SNAP retail system may not allow purchases beginning Nov. 1.
By the numbers: SNAP benefits in Arkansas, which are all federally funded, total about $41 million a month, Lesnick told Axios.
The bottom line: Congress has little time before the shutdown affects some of the most vulnerable Americans.