About 700,000 Wisconsinites’ Foodshare benefits will be delayed in November due to the federal government shutdown.
FoodShare is Wisconsin’s name for the federally funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
Approximately 42 million Americans rely on the program to help pay for groceries. Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the program had enough funds through the end of October. It directed states to hold off on issuing November benefits until further notice.
Matt King, the CEO of Hunger Task Force, says what is known right now, in addition to FoodShare benefits being delayed in November, is that there has been no federal communication to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services indicating that EBT cards would be deactivated or that benefits would be lost.
“Historically, during shutdowns like this, when there is a delay in the issuance of payments, when the government reopens, DHS will notify members and those payments that they missed will then be made up,” King says. “I think it's important for people to know that other programs like WIC, BadgerCare and Medicaid are still funded and still available, and that as of now there is no anticipated delay in those programs.”
King says the nearly 700,000 Wisconsinites getting FoodShare benefits has been consistent over time, but what has increased is the demand on food pantries and the emergency food system.
“Which is really designed as a safety net to help people during an emergency but then actively transition people to a more sustainable and ongoing resource like the FoodShare program,” King says. “Over the past year, food pantries across the state of Wisconsin have seen, on average, more than a 30% increase in visits, with a lot of families and older adults just looking for a little bit of help to get through the month. The increase in rent, the increase in the price of groceries has had a particular effect on that demand, and so that increase in demand will be exacerbated then by this delay in FoodShare benefits being issued.”
But King says the Hunger Task Force is in a strong position to help people in need. It's able to connect people with food resources near them.
King acknowledges, however, that people not having their usual benefits will be in worse situations.
“Right now, we're already in a situation where a lot of families and older adults in communities across our state are faced with tough choices: keeping a roof over their family's head, paying the utility bills, or skipping a meal. Or for a lot of older adults, affording their medications,” King says. “And that's where food assistance organizations step in to help where needed. But that's always been coupled with the support of the SNAP, or in Wisconsin, FoodShare program, and so taking away that resource is really going to harm families ultimately.”
