UPDATE, OCT. 29, 9:30 a.m.: Gov. Bob Ferguson has directed that $2.2 million a week will be transferred to the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) if the federal government fails to reach a budget deal by Saturday, Nov. 1.
The decision is to help mitigate impacts of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, potentially being frozen due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, the state said in a press release.
The first transfer of funds will be made on Monday, Nov. 3, if the Senate does not reach a budget deal or legal efforts to protect the program are unsuccessful. The transfers will continue weekly until SNAP funding is restored, the state said.
Gov. Ferguson is directing the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) to shift nearly $2.2 million per week in funding to the WSDA, which provides grants directly to local food banks.
Yesterday WA State Attorney General Nick Brown joined a coalition of 22 other attorneys general in a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which claims the suspension of SNAP is unlawful.
“SNAP benefits help ensure that nearly a million Washingtonians – seniors, children, and people living with disabilities – have enough to eat every day,” Brown said in a press release. “Trump is picking and choosing what gets funded and what doesn’t during the shutdown. Apparently keeping food on the table for more than 40 million Americans isn’t a priority for the President.”
EVERETT, OCT 28: The countdown is on for 1 out of 10 Washingtonians as funding for the federal food assistance program, SNAP, is set to freeze Nov. 1.
As the government shutdown heads into its fifth week, funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has been able to sustain states until the end of the month. SNAP, formally referred to as food stamps, is a federal program providing monthly benefits to low-income households to assist with groceries.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture released a memo last week that said they can not legally use contingency funds to provide assistance to SNAP members. The Trump administration has claimed that Senate Democrats are to blame for the freeze as the two parties continue to fail to find a compromise for the federal budget.
Nearly 930,000 people in Washington are enrolled in the SNAP program and are being advised to stretch out remaining funds and to seek alternative food resources such as food banks.
Food banks are already seeing an unprecedented number of clients and a decrease in food supplies, according to Volunteers of America of Western Washington (VOAWW).
In July, the VOAWW served 10,591 individuals, the highest number in a single month in at least 25 years, Jessica Moore, VP of Development, said.
“If SNAP benefits aren’t distributed, we expect to see a major surge in families turning to us for help,” Moore said.
The VOAWW has locations across Snohomish County, with food pantries at The Village on Casino Road and Everett Community College.
Moore said that the food bank hasn’t received a shipment from TEFAP, The Emergency Food Assistance Program, in more than two weeks.
The once-weekly shipment makes up 10-15% of the food intake, John Glennon, executive director for hunger prevention services, said in an interview in July when U.S. Rep. Rick Larson visited the food bank.
The reductions in federal food supplies are part of President Trump’s “big beautiful” bill targeting “waste and abuse”, which reduced SNAP benefits and federal funding of the program by roughly $186 billion through 2034.
With the high demand on both ends, VOAWW has had to limit resources to its food pantries and focus solely on feeding clients at the main food bank, Moore said.
“At the Everett Community Food Bank, our food supplies are stretched thin and our shelves are starting to look bare. We’re already having to make tough choices about how far we can stretch what we have. Families are receiving a little less food than usual simply because there isn’t enough to go around,” Moore said.
Some states have taken action to mitigate the fallout. Virginia declared a state of emergency, freeing up funds if needed. Gov. Gavin Newsom in California said they are contributing $80 million in funds for food banks, and will be deploying the National Guard to distribute food.
Gov. Bob Ferguson addressed the potential freeze Tuesday, Oct. 28, by directing a weekly fund transfer of $2.2 million to Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) if the Senate does not reach a budget deal by Saturday, Nov. 1.
The WSDA provides grants to local food banks, helping them to provide food supplies to more residents.
Moore said that community members who can help can do so by donating or collecting resources through food drives.
“Every can, every dollar, every drive makes a difference. The best way to help right now is by donating food or funds so we can keep shelves stocked and meet the needs of our neighbors,” Moore said.
For a list of the most needed supplies, see here.
