If the government shutdown lingers into February, millions of Americans will suffer from disrupted SNAP benefits, colloquially known as food stamps.
According to a Monday CBS News report, SNAP is automatically renewed every year, but Congress has not approved funding past January. There is a $3 million reserve of emergency SNAP funds, but that will fall far short of the country’s needs. For comparison, in September 2018, $4.7 billion was distributed nationwide in SNAP benefits.
SNAP isn’t the only critical nutritional program at risk because of the shutdown. Per CBS, the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) are currently receiving no federal funding, having to depend on state reserves.
