If the U.S. federal government shutdown continues, millions of low-income Americans could lose access to monthly benefits that pay for food.
About 42 million people receive money through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps. The Department of Agriculture told states in an Oct. 10 letter that if the shutdowns continued, they would not have enough money to pay benefits in November.
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President Donald Trump’s Republican administration has criticized Democrats, with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins repeating false health-related talking points on the X program on October 16, saying, “Democrats are putting free health care for illegal aliens and their political agenda ahead of food security for American families. It’s shameful.”
The government shutdown stems from disagreements between Democrats, who want Congress to extend expiring Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies that allow uninsured Americans to buy health insurance as part of approving federal funds, and Republicans, who want to first extend federal funds before negotiating whether and how to extend ACA subsidies.
SNAP is a federal program administered by state agencies. On average, participants receive individual benefits of about $190 per month, or $356 per household. Recipients can use their benefits to buy fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy products, bread, and other foods. The majority of SNAP households live in poverty.
Lawmakers and social media users have made several statements about SNAP, with varying degrees of accuracy, regarding the government shutdown and the Republican tax and spending bill that President Trump signed into law in July. Let’s take a closer look here:
Food stamps will be phased out Nov. 1, according to social media posts.
Many posts on social media say food stamps will be phased out as early as November 1st.
“Let’s figure it out in time for the cold season and the month of gratitude,” the Instagram post said.
It can happen to millions of people. But it doesn’t apply to all residents, and the monthly dates for receiving benefits vary by state, so they could extend through the entire month of November.
The Trump administration could use SNAP emergency funds to cover nearly two-thirds of a full month’s benefits or transfer other USDA funds, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal think tank. The administration announced it has found funding to continue the Women, Infants, and Children program, another food program for low-income families.
According to the Department of Agriculture’s funding lapse plan, SNAP “shall continue operations during appropriations lapses, subject to the availability of funds.”
The USDA letter asked states to refrain from taking any actions that would lead to them receiving benefits in November. Federal regulations require cuts to be made in such a way that higher-income recipients lose more benefits than lower-income recipients.
We asked government officials for more information, but our questions were not answered.
Officials in many states, including Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin, said participants may not receive or receive benefits in November if closures continue. A spokesperson for the Florida Department of Children and Families told PolitiFact that benefits will not be provided if the shutdown continues into November.
California Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday announced the deployment of the National Guard and California Volunteers, a state agency, and $80 million in state funding to assist food banks.
“Empty cupboards and empty stomachs are not abstract outcomes,” Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers told Rollins in a letter Wednesday. “These are real and near-term consequences of dysfunction in Washington. They are also consequences that can be prevented today.”
Meanwhile, food banks across the country have been hurt by other Trump administration policies. ProPublica reported Oct. 3 that the government earlier this year cut deliveries through the Emergency Food Assistance Program, which provides food to state distribution agencies, by $500 million.
So what are key legislators saying on this issue, and how true are their claims?
“We’re not cutting” Snap
– Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Mike Johnson, speaking on May 25th on “Face the Nation”
This is incorrect.
Johnson spoke after the House passed a Republican-backed bill known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which incorporated many of then-President Trump’s policy priorities.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the nonpartisan headcount reduction arm of Congress, estimated in May that an average of 3.2 million fewer people would receive SNAP benefits per month over the next nine years, based on the bill’s changes to work requirements and limits on states’ ability to waive work requirements in areas with high unemployment.
A recent August CBO analysis estimated that this change would reduce SNAP participation by approximately 2.4 million people.
“Almost 25 cents of every dollar paid through SNAP goes to farmers and ranchers.”
– Wisconsin Congresswoman Francesca Hon, Posted on June 12th
This is true.
Hong said in a series of X posts that the bill won’t just hurt families receiving food assistance.
In 2023, farm facilities earned 24.3 cents for every dollar spent on food at home, including grocery stores and supermarkets, according to a chart released this year by the USDA Economic Research Service.
“About 20% of households with veterans rely on SNAP.”
– House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries at a May 8 press conference
This is mostly incorrect.
An April 2 survey found that 8 percent of veterans rely on SNAP benefits. No state had a share greater than 14%. Studies using data from several years ago have shown the rate to be between 4.9 percent and 6.6 percent.
Lewis Jacobson, staff writer Loleben Tuquero and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Madeline Heim contributed to this article.
