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Gov't shutdown leaves some worried about SNAP
The U.S. government has been shut down for 21 days, as of Oct. 21, and if a budget is not passed soon, SNAP benefits may not be paid in November. FOX 10's Ashlie Rodriguez has more on the potential impact.
PHOENIX - Tuesday, Oct. 21 marks Day 21 of the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, and if legislators in Washington fail to pass a budget soon, November’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits may not be paid.
Should SNAP payments be delayed, it would affect more than 900,000 Arizona residents.
Big picture view:
SNAP benefits, which is also referred to as food stamps, usually gives families around $700 to $900 a month to buy groceries.
The federal government supplies 95% of the money to pay for them, so if the shutdown continues, November will be extremely tight for families that rely on these benefits.
Local perspective:
Amri Shuba, who is a single mother of four, was waiting outside the Arizona Department of Economic Security on Oct. 21 for this month’s SNAP benefits.
"It’s a four-hour wait in there right now," said Shuba.
Shuba has not yet been approved for SNAP, because President Donald Trump’s recently-passed spending bill tightened eligibility and created new requirements.
"I had to go to weekly food banks and stuff like that to get food boxes for us to be able to have meals," said Shuba. "It is definitely stressful right now."
Dig deeper:
Shuba is keenly aware that she may not be getting the benefits in November if the government remains shut down. While she says she is not too worried, she will rely on food banks to fill in the gaps in her fridge.
Shuba is not the only one who is counting on charity to feed her family. The lines at St. Mary’s extend around the building, from the time it opens until it closes, five days a week, but food banks are also dealing with their own problems.
Since food banks can receive anywhere from 20% to 50% of their food from the federal government, they are preparing to be overwhelmed and under-supplied in November.
"There’s nobody to call because they’re not working, because of the government shutdown," said Jerry Brown of St. Mary’s Food Bank. "There is no way that food banks are going to be able to make up the millions of meals that are going to be lost by the SNAP changes. That gap is too wide, too broad for any food bank in the country because we’re already at close to peak capacity."