Two of the major public nutrition programs, SNAP and WIC, could run out of money if the partial government shutdown persists into February and beyond, affecting millions of people. While the USDA says funding is assured for this month, it is not as clear about what to expect in the future.
Among activists, the greatest attention is focused on SNAP, which helped 38.6 million people buy food at latest count. Congress funded the program, with benefits costing nearly $4.8 billion a month, through January. There is a $3 billion reserve for SNAP but that’s not enough to cover benefits in February. SNAP benefits, averaging $123 a person per month, would be subject to deep cuts if the $3 billion is pro-rated.
“We are currently looking at options for SNAP,” said USDA spokesman Tim Murtaugh. “The best course of action would be for Congress to send a legitimate appropriations bill to the president to end the lapse in funding.”
President Trump wants $5.6 billion for a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. “This shutdown could end tomorrow or it also could go on for a long time,” he said on Sunday. House Democrats passed legislation last week to re-open federal agencies without money for wall. The GOP-controlled Senate is not expected to vote on the bills.
By law, the USDA is required to tell states, which administer SNAP, how to reduce benefits if the government cannot provide all the money needed. By the middle of this month, states will need to know how much money to load onto the EBT card for each food-stamp recipient. USDA officials face the question of telling states to curtail benefits or to assume that funding will materialize.
This is the first time a federal shutdown has provoked public discussion of a potential disruption to nutrition programs, although there were internal discussions in 2015, when Congress was slow to pass an appropriations bill.
In memos to state officials, the USDA said at the start of the shutdown, on Dec. 26, that “SNAP will continue operations and eligible households will receive monthly benefits for January” and “WIC state agencies have sufficient funds to continue operations and eligible households should continue to receive benefits.” WIC may have enough money to run through February, according to one outside estimate.
The Women, Infants and Children program provides supplemental food, nutrition education and healthcare referrals to 6.8 million people every month. The program cost around $5.3 billion in fiscal 2018.
Child nutrition programs, such as school lunch, operate on a reimbursement basis. Schools probably will continue to offer meals in the belief they will be compensated later. USDA’s food distribution programs have stockpiles in warehouses, but cannot order replacements.
The anti-hunger group Food Research and Action Center pointed to House passage of funding for USDA last week and noted USDA statements that SNAP, WIC, child nutrition and other nutrition operations “can continue through January.”
A grocer in Clay City, in west-central Indiana, blamed the shutdown for the sudden inability to process SNAP sales, according to the news site MyWabashValley.com on Saturday. “Our machines weren’t taking any EBT cards … And then we found out it was due to the government shutting down,” said manager Tristen Malone. Other grocery stores in the area reported no problems. Intermittent disruptions are reported frequently in the computer networks that handle SNAP accounts.