Federally-funded food assistance won’t go out to roughly 28,000 Wyomingites around the state next month if the federal government shutdown continues. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced that Supplemental Nutrition Access Program (SNAP) benefits will not be issued across the country at the start of November.
The program, previously known as food stamps, supports low-income people and serves roughly one in every eight Americans nationwide.
Kelly Douglas is the public information officer with the Wyoming Department of Family Services, which administers SNAP in the state.
“ We received confirmation from our USDA federal partners that at this time, because of the shutdown, there would not be that transfer of money in November,” she said. “We do think that it could change if there is a reopening of the government and we want to keep open the possibility that there could be a transfer later in November.”
People typically receive their SNAP benefits directly onto an electronic benefit transfer card at the start of every month, which can then be used at grocery stores, convenience stores and farmer's markets.
According to Douglas, an average of 28,364 people accessed SNAP in Wyoming each month last fiscal year, with an average monthly payment of about $185 per person. The timing of this SNAP pause also comes at a particularly busy time of year for the program.
“ We typically do have increases around the holidays and do have increased demand around the holidays, so we're coming right up to it,” said Douglas.
She added that counties with larger populations have the highest numbers of people accessing SNAP. This September, Natrona County had 5,003 recipients, Laramie County had 4,860 recipients, Fremont County had 3,666 recipients, and Sweetwater County had 2,098 recipients.
The state Department of Family Services is currently working with the Food Bank of Wyoming and other community partners to help connect people in need to other resources around the state, including the Wyoming 211 hotline. It is also posting updates about the status of SNAP benefits on its website every day.
Douglas said people who are interested and eligible to enroll in SNAP should still fill out the application to get the ball rolling.
“ We can process the applications, we just can't issue the payments at this time,” she said. “We definitely encourage that, and then when the federal shutdown is over and we have our payments again through our federal funding, then we could get people what they need right away.”
In a press release sent out via email on the morning of Oct. 28, Gov. Gordon wrote that he is “exploring options” around the upcoming SNAP pause and that his first priority is “to ensure families across the state in need of assistance do not go hungry.”
“We in Wyoming know how important it is to solve problems, which is why I know food pantries, churches and other organizations across the Cowboy State are ready to step up and help,” said Gordon. “We are working on ways to provide assistance. In the meantime, I have no doubt that Wyoming citizens will help by donating to their local food pantry, church pantry and charitable organization.”
Wyoming Department of Health Deputy Director Franz Fuchs confirmed that WIC benefits – another food assistance program specifically for low-income women, infants and children – are still going out in Wyoming. The program serves about 7,500 people in the state each month.
“We anticipate being able to provide WIC services at least through November. We will provide updated information through our website and notify participants regarding our ability to cover services if the shutdown continues past that point,” he wrote in an email to Wyoming Public Radio.
A group of more than two dozen states across the country filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration on the morning of Oct. 28, over its decision not to continue to fund SNAP during the shutdown.
A banner at the top of the USDA’s website states that “the well has run dry” for SNAP and that Senate Democrats can “continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance.”
It’s one of many messages on federal websites that could, according to some experts, violate federal ethics laws that prevent government employees from engaging in most political activity while on the job.
