The Expiration Date

SNAP Benefits On Pause Amidst Government Shutdown

Photo by Gaining Visuals on Unsplash

As of Nov. 1, the United States Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has been entirely paused. SNAP is a government program that grants lower-income individuals and families food assistance. This assistance comes in the form of a card called an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card, which grants the user a set amount of money depending on their income. This can be used to purchase goods like dairy, vegetables, and meats. Due to the recent government shutdown, SNAP has not been given funding, causing the program to expire, because the EBT cards no longer have money enabled on them.

Without SNAP, lower income citizens have been put at risk. Some are unable to purchase food entirely, causing many charitable food systems, such as food banks, to face increased demand. Some states are able to provide citizens with a short term solution, using their own funds to cover the cards for residents. In Florida, however, the state is unable to fund these cards. 

Without direct funding from the state, food instability has become a prevalent issue, especially in Tallahassee. Even before the loss of the SNAP program, Tallahassee has suffered from food instability.

“Large parts of Leon County (and thus Tallahassee) are food deserts where families cannot access affordable and healthy food. This means there is already a lot of food insecurity in our town without adding on this additional stressor to people,” upper school social studies teacher Christine LaBatt said. “These programs benefit many parts of society- senior citizens, people with disabilities, and others below the poverty line- who cannot easily get nutritious food.”

In Leon County, over 34% of residents rely on SNAP benefits. The loss of these benefits has caused much distress throughout the area. With the state unable to support those in need, local contributions from organizations like Second Harvest and Feeding America are working to help those in need. Although these organizations have much strain placed on them due to the influx of demand, community donations have helped to support them greatly.

“The food stamps pause hopefully will be short,” upper school history teacher Timothy Fitzpatrick said. “But, we can do something by donating to local food banks. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, people will hopefully give generously.” 

In Leon County, many locations are open to donate to those in need. By dropping off non-perishable items to local food banks, the organizations are able to distribute goods to those in need.