While Congress is in a stalemate on an overdue spending package, federal funding is beginning to run out on critical food assistance programs.
Funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, will not be issued next month due to the government shutdown, according to a press release from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.
SNAP is the nation's largest food-security program, with approximately 42 million individuals receiving SNAP benefits, including 169,812 in Maine or over 12% of the state's total population.
In Maine, the average monthly SNAP benefit for a family of four is $572. Seventy-five percent of SNAP households include at least one working adult, more than half include a person with a disability and more than one-third include children.
"SNAP helps support food security. We know that it improves health outcomes, and we know that it strengthens Maine's economy," said Ian Yaffe, director of the Office of Family Independence under Maine DHHS. "For the people who depend on this program, we hope that there is a solution that means that they'll be able to put food on the table next month."
The federal government has been shutdown since Oct. 1, after Congress failed to pass a spending package ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline.
Parties are divided on whether or not to extend health care tax credits that Democrats say help keep insurance premiums down for millions of middle-class Americans, but that Republicans say provide free health care for illegal immigrants. Current policy only allows subsidies for U.S. citizens.
Advocates say the pause in funding could not come at a worse time.
In July, Congress and the Trump administration passed one of the largest cuts to health care and food assistance in history. According to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, this included changes to SNAP eligibility, benefits and program administration.
Alex Carter is a policy advocate with Maine Equal Justice — a legal aid nonprofit that focuses on food insecurity. She said many recipients will lose benefits due to the new eligibility restrictions.
"People who really need food assistance may drop out of the program, or think this is unnecessarily confusing and scary," Carter said. "We are hearing particularly from parents ... with kids who are really worried about being able to feed their families come November."
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priority, the Trump Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has the ability to fund SNAP through November by activating SNAP’s contingency fund or "use the discretionary authority it used to transfer funds into WIC earlier this month, or any other available legal authority to augment the SNAP contingency funding."
It's unclear whether the USDA plans to utilize those funds to ensure November SNAP benefits.
"I don't like to guess anymore about what this administration is willing or not willing to do," Carter said. "People should not go hungry because Congress is at an impasse and can't figure out how to negotiate an end to this shutdown."
According to Maine DHHS, SNAP benefits already loaded onto EBT cards in October remain available for use to purchase food. Those who need additional resources are encouraged to call 211.
