Starting Nov. 1, funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — the nation’s 60-year-old food assistance program — could be withheld for the first time ever, leaving millions of low-income Americans facing “real distress.” As part of the ongoing government shutdown, 40 million Americans who rely on SNAP benefits may see their monthly food budgets vanish. And experts warn that the disruptions could increase demand at food banks, drive up consumer hardship — even throw supply chains off-kilter.
“I don’t think there’s any way to sugarcoat it,” says Christopher Bosso, a professor of public policy and politics at Northeastern University. “Pretty quickly, as early as late next week, you’re going to start to see evidence of real distress out there.” Bosso says that SNAP benefits are typically distributed on the first day of each month, supporting an estimated 40 million Americans who rely on the program for assistance. Many of those Americans also rely on food pantries by the third or fourth week of the month — by some estimates up to half, Bosso says.
The SNAP benefits are administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) through its Food and Nutrition Service, and the money is transferred to recipients through an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card. “If you don’t have any money in your EBT card, it’s going to be that much harder for these families to get through the month, period,” says Bosso, author of “Why SNAP Works: A Political History — and Defense — of the Food Stamp Program.”
