As SNAP benefits halt, WA scrambles to feed 930,000 residents amid federal shutdown

Across Washington, government agencies and nonprofits are scrambling to help 930,000 state residents who will lose their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, food benefits starting Nov. 1 due to the ongoing federal shutdown.

On Friday, a federal judge in Rhode Island blocked the Trump administration from halting SNAP benefits that feed 42 million Americans amid the ongoing government shutdown.

During the hearing, an attorney for the Justice Department argued the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program no longer existed because Congress had not appropriated funds for it, and that it was up to the administration whether to tap $6 billion in contingency funds to keep the program running.

The Rhode Island ruling came just minutes after a federal judge in Boston said plaintiffs in a similar case are likely to prevail on their claim that suspending SNAP benefits is unlawful. That judge said she is still weighing a request for a temporary restraining order to maintain the payments.

Gov. Ferguson diverts $2.2M to local food banks

In a last-minute effort, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson is diverting $2.2 million to food banks across the state. Many low-income, no-income, or disabled residents who are SNAP-eligible people rely on food banks for groceries every day.

However, Aaron Czyzewski, Director of Advocacy and Public Policy at the non-profit Food Lifeline, said it may be too late for governments to intervene, and SNAP recipients are now left to rely on the kindness of friends, family, and their communities for help.

He said they are also seeing more and more federal government and military families in need and actively reaching out, asking for help.

“There were 200 military families who were needing support for Thanksgiving groceries,” Czyzewski told KIRO Newsradio. “That list is now up to 800 families.”

On Tuesday, U.S. Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal partnered with the City of Seattle on a resource fair to help other federal workers with food and bills, who were impacted by the shutdown.

One of those workers, Alison Jowers, a furloughed federal contractor, shared, “I was able to stockpile some food, so I have a little bit to get me by. I have rent for November. If this continues, I may not have rent for December.”

Nonprofits stockpile resources in preparation for SNAP benefits running out

Jamie Lynn Wheeler with Northwest Harvest said, while a lot of nonprofits stockpiled food and other resources in anticipation of SNAP benefits running out, they are thinking outside the box for ways to help.

“I’ve even seen, with Halloween around the corner, people trying to provide packaged food from their front doors that way,” Wheeler said.

The Edmonds Food Bank is teaming up with the Feed Me Hospitality and Restaurant Group to deliver extra food and repurposed food to people in need.

“The combination of inflation, increased grocery costs, the shutdown, SNAP cuts, and then already us dealing with food cuts from food we would normally receive,” explained spokesperson Kelly Lewis. “All of that is hard.”

Private companies are also chipping in to help. Instacart is offering customers who receive SNAP benefits 50% off their next grocery order. DoorDash is waiving service and delivery fees for 300,000 orders for SNAP recipients. And GoPuff is donating $10 million to help SNAP recipients.

Bank of America said it’s delivering $5 million to immediately support families and individuals experiencing urgent food needs. The money will go to nearly 100 nonprofit organizations currently addressing increasing needs at the local level in communities nationwide. In addition, the corporation is committing $250 million over the next five years to support food insecurity across American communities.

Follow Luke Duecy on X. Read more of his stories here. Submit news tips here.