Government shutdown threatens food assistance for millions nationwide

Millions of Americans who depend on federal food aid could be among the next victims of the ongoing crisis Government shutdown.

Nearly 42 million people in the U.S. who use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are at risk of not receiving aid by Nov. 1, when the program is expected to run out of money, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) warned government agencies in a memo obtained by Fox News Digital on Thursday.

More than two dozen states have alerted residents to possible funding gaps. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency over SNAP benefits on Thursday.

“It takes about $8 billion a month to fund SNAP benefits nationwide,” said the Rev. Eugene Chu, president and CEO of Bread for the World, a nonprofit hunger advocacy group that works with local partners to educate recipients about access to food. “When there is no funding, it not only impacts people’s pockets, it impacts people across the country.”

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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks to the media next to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on the day President Donald Trump meets with top congressional leaders at the White House in Washington, Sept. 29, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Chu explained to Fox News Digital that some states will feel the drought in government funding more than others.

“Yes, the funding comes from the federal government, but it is administered through local states,” he said. “And so, when it comes to SNAP, states are on a slightly different cadence in terms of how they communicate a reduction or elimination of SNAP benefits. It varies a little bit from state to state.”

The longer the shutdown lasts, the less funding will be available for the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nutrition program, which helps nearly 7 million pregnant women and children under five.

A shouting match broke out between Hakeem Jeffries and Mike Lawler as the government shutdown chaos continued

That could pose a political headache for Democrats, who have resisted approving Republicans’ federal funding plan for more than a month, demanding major concessions on health care in exchange for their support.

A USDA spokesperson told Fox News Digital: “We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. Continue to stick to health care for illegal immigrants or reopen the government so mothers, children, and the most vulnerable among us can receive WIC and SNAP benefits in a timely manner.”

The House passed a seven-week extension of fiscal year 2025 funding largely along party lines on September 19. The measure, a continuing resolution, is intended to give lawmakers more time to reach a long-term agreement for fiscal year 2026.

A local bodega with an “EBT accepted here” sign window in Queens, New York. (Lindsay Nicholson/UCG/Universal Image Group via Getty Images)

But in the Senate, where it takes more Democrats to break a filibuster than to vote for it, progress has stalled, with legislation having failed 12 times already.

Democrats are demanding that any spending plan be coupled with an extension of the enhanced budget Obamacare subsidies Which is scheduled to expire at the end of 2025.

They also called on Republicans to repeal the Medicaid cuts made in the Big, Beautiful Bill (OBBBA) Act earlier this year.

“Millions of American families are about to lose access to food aid as Democrats openly acknowledge fear from their far-left base and refuse to reopen the government,” House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., told Fox News Digital.

The Thompson Committee has jurisdiction over SNAP in the House of Representatives.

“We need to reopen the government, so we can put Americans first by making sure families can put food on the table and support our farmers,” he said.

Democrats could also face the political quagmire of previously railing against Republicans who moved to expand SNAP work requirements at OBBBA, whom the right now holds responsible for draining federal food benefits.

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The Trump administration has some authority to move existing funding to help cover shortfalls during the shutdown. The White House moved Pentagon research and development funding to cover active-duty military pay on October 15, and reallocated about $300 million in tariff revenues to WIC earlier this month.

But no such reform It will be temporaryAs happened in the two aforementioned amendments.

When reached for comment on the administration’s SNAP warning, the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee told Fox News Digital that the USDA needs to tap into the government’s emergency SNAP reserves.

“It is time for the administration to do the right thing by seniors, children and veterans and use the SNAP emergency fund to ensure benefits can be provided for November,” said Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn.

The SNAP emergency fund currently has about $5 billion, which is not enough to serve an entire month.

However, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters Thursday that he believes the White House would benefit from the funding.

“As was the case in previous government shutdowns, the administration can find money if it chooses to do so,” Jeffries said. “In fact, there is about $5 billion available in a contingency fund for emergency situations like this.” “But the administration refuses to approve its use. Why? Because they want to starve the American people as part of their ongoing effort to impose cruelty on ordinary Americans.”