The government shutdown is now in its third week–which means thousands of federal workers have been furloughed and many services have been paused until Congress can come up with a funding agreement to reopen the government.
A shutdown also creates uncertainty among people participating in the federal nutrition programs, like SNAP, WIC, and school meals, as they want to know that they’ll continue receiving their benefits and won’t have to start making difficult financial decisions as they look to cover their bills.
Share Our Strength’s CEO Anne Filipic recently spoke with BBC News about how the shutdown and recent cuts to SNAP could impact hunger and our federal nutrition programs. Here are 3 takeaways from that interview:
1. A prolonged shutdown could disrupt nutrition programs
Despite the shutdown starting October 1, many of these programs have some left over funds that they’re able to use, but that won’t be the case forever.
As Filipic spoke about on BBC, “What we could see if this shutdown goes on is that essentially we run out of the funds to run these programs.”
Now, that won’t happen immediately. For all nutrition programs, funds will continue to go to families through at least October. If more funds aren’t released after that point, states might have to reach into their own reserves in order to keep paying benefits.
“Right now, families are ok, but there is real risk,” said Filipic.
2. This shutdown isn’t the only threat that could increase hunger
“That was the biggest cut to the program in history,” said Filipic.
This past summer, a budget reconciliation bill was signed into law that includes nearly $200 billion in cuts to SNAP which will impact all of the 42 million Americans using its grocery benefits.
These cuts will make it harder for working parents, veterans and seniors to put food on the table. And with nearly 16 million kids also participating in SNAP, this will have wide-reaching consequences for our fight against childhood hunger.
“This is happening at a time that millions of Americans are really struggling to make their food budgets meet their needs with rising prices of food,” said Filipic. “We’re seeing the social safety net attacked, and this is a time that families need it more than ever.”
3. We need our elected leaders to be serious about solving hunger
1 in 5 kids in our country still face hunger. This is a problem that affects every zip code, Congressional district and community. We know what works: smart investments in our nutrition programs that help families, strengthen local businesses and support our farmers.
“What we need is for these programs to be strengthened, not deteriorated,” said Filipic.
Whether it’s reopening the government, funding nutrition programs or rolling back these devastating cuts to SNAP, it’s crucial that Members of Congress and the Presidential Administration are laser-focused on ending hunger.
74% of Americans agree that ending hunger should be a top priority for our elected leaders. It’s time for them to act.
