Millions could go hungry in NC if SNAP benefits are paused during government shutdown

Kids, seniors, and veterans are among those who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to eat. The Trump administration has warned it will discontinue the program’s payments in November.

If the US government doesn’t reopen before Nov. 1, more than 1.4 million North Carolinians—including children, seniors, and veterans—could lose the federal benefits that keep them from going hungry.

Because of the federal shutdown, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will run out of money after Oct. 31, and the Trump administration has said it will not tap into an emergency reserve fund to ensure the payments go out next month. SNAP, the largest food assistance program in the US, helps feed more than 40 million people across the country each year, and is one of the most efficient tools the government has to lift families out of poverty.

According to state data, at least 580,000 of the state’s SNAP recipients are children. More than 46,000 are veterans.

North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson on Tuesday joined a lawsuit filed by more than 20 state attorneys general seeking to force the Trump administration to utilize a $6 billion reserve fund to ensure recipients get their November SNAP benefits. 

“The USDA [US Department of Agriculture] has the money to keep SNAP running – including $6 billion in reserve funds set aside for exactly this situation,” Jackson said in a press release shortly before the lawsuit was officially announced. 

“Refusing to use those funds would be unlawful and a stunning disregard for the wellbeing of roughly 600,000 children in our state,” Jackson wrote.

Consequences from policy disruptions can often be complicated or slow to reverberate, but it’s pretty straightforward what happens when you take food off a family’s table. 

They don’t eat. They go hungry.

Food banks across the country have said they are already facing historic demand, and will be unable to fill the massive crater the missed benefits would cause. Without SNAP, North Carolina’s hunger crisis is going to get much worse. 

Thanksgiving is a month away.

‘This is gonna be crushing’

As they have with most aid programs, Republicans paint SNAP as full of waste, fraud, or abuse. But that is not even close to the reality, Tamara Baker, the project and communications director for the University of North Carolina’s Carolina Hunger Initiative, said in an interview on Monday.

“Four in five families participating in SNAP have either a child, a senior, or an adult with disability,” Baker said.

Most of the adult recipients work, Baker added, despite Republican suggestions to the contrary, and often work multiple jobs to make ends meet. The vast majority of those who don’t work either have disabilities or are caretakers for family members with disabilities. 

Some far-right groups and online trolls have also tried to dismiss the consequences of any missed benefits by citing false or misleading racial data, suggesting that most of the recipients are people of color or immigrants.

Aside from being racist—as if it’s OK to let people of color go hungry—it’s also incorrect.

According to USDA data, White people make up the biggest group of SNAP recipients nationwide (35%), and more than 89% of recipients were born in the United States. 

And finally, Trump and other Republicans say that only “Democratic priorities” will be affected by the shutdown.  

Also, false, Baker said.

SNAP previously held bipartisan support, she said, and Trump voters in rural counties will be disproportionately affected by an end to benefits.

Some 17% of rural and small town residents in North Carolina depend on SNAP benefits, Baker said, compared to 11% in metro areas. And a study conducted after the 2020 election showed that 80% of the counties showing the biggest increase in SNAP recipients since 2010 voted for Trump over Joe Biden.

“This is gonna be crushing to small towns and rural communities,” she said. 

‘A ripple effect’

The potential missed SNAP payments are not the only financial threat facing low-income communities.

Health insurance rates are also about to skyrocket. Medicaid cuts are looming. Trump’s tariffs continue to raise the prices of groceries, clothing and necessities. Heating costs are going up and winter is coming. 

“This is a ripple effect,” Baker said. “There are gonna have to be some really, really hard choices made out there.” 

Several studies show SNAP benefits, which used to come as “food stamps,” but are now put onto “EBT” debit cards, have improved all sorts of outcomes for recipients. SNAP doesn’t just put food on the table, Baker said, it helps improve health and lowers the number of doctor and hospital visits.

Take that away, and the inverse becomes true. Hunger means more sickness, missed work, less productivity, and a weaker local economy.

“People [will have to] choose rent or food, housing issues are gonna be much more difficult, winter is here, heating is gonna be a big question,” Baker said.

SNAP also pumps money into the local economy, boosting the stores that depend on the SNAP benefits spent there. 

“Corner stores accept them and even farmer’s markets,” Jessica Soldavini, a UNC professor and research specialist at the Carolina Hunger Initiative, said. “There are quite a few farmer’s markets in North Carolina where you can use your benefits to purchase fresh produce, and a lot of people don’t realize you can also use them to purchase plants and seeds to grow food, things like tomato plants.”

“It’s also creating jobs,” she added.

A recent study by the National Groceries Association (NGA) shows SNAP helped create 9,166 grocery industry jobs in North Carolina and another 4,984 jobs in “supporting industries” like agriculture and transportation.  

“If those benefits aren’t being spent, that impacts the businesses and that impacts people’s employment,” Soldavini said.

In a press release this month, Greg Ferrara, president and CEO of the NGA called on Congress to hurry up and fund SNAP.

“A lapse in funding will disrupt food access, creating instability for shoppers, retailers, and communities alike,” Ferrara said. “Protecting these programs is an investment in the health, stability, and well-being of Main Street communities across the country.”

Donations and food banks are eager but inadequate substitutes

In an August press conference, Amy Beros, president and CEO of the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, the state’s largest food bank, said that the state was already facing the worst hunger crisis in decades and would be unable to meet demand amid Trump cuts to SNAP and other food aid programs.

“ We are seeing more hunger today than we’ve seen in 20 years,” Beros said.

For every meal that the food bank provides, Beros said, SNAP provides nine.

The food bank would be unable to fill the gap caused by just cuts to SNAP, much less a complete halt to the program.

“Just a 10% cut would mean we’d almost have to double in distribution, which is simply impossible for us to do,” she said. “ No matter how dedicated our community of supporters are, We are not able to fill this gap.”

That was before the shutdown.

“This is not a problem charity alone can solve. This is a moment when public policy will decide whether hunger in our state gets better, or far, far worse.”

That, once again, was before the shutdown.

How did we get here?

The federal government shutdown is entering its fifth week and shows no signs of ending. Democrats are holding out their votes on a new budget until Republicans agree to extend tax credits that ensure millions of Americans have access to health care through the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Without the credits, health insurance premiums rates will double or even quadruple for tens of thousands of North Carolinians, making insurance unaffordable for many families, especially in rural areas. 

Notices for the new rates are set to go out the same day SNAP payments will dry up.

Republicans, who control the White House, the US Senate, and the US House, have blamed Democrats for the shutdown, refusing to negotiate over the subsidies as part of a spending bill. The Trump administration, breaking nearly historic precedent against politicizing the federal workforce, has also demonized Democrats in highly partisan language across federal websites. 

But hunger is non-partisan, Baker said, and missed food benefits will hurt conservative voters and liberal voters alike. Partisan warfare does not solve the problem, she said.

“I don’t understand how that helps someone who needs to feed their child,” Baker said.

What happens next?

Trump’s US Department of Agriculture, which runs the SNAP program, has told states that they will not be reimbursed for any extra money they use to boost payments during the shutdown. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has warned recipients they won’t get their November benefits if the shutdown doesn’t end in the next couple of days.

But if Republicans do agree to fund the ACA subsidies, if the government does reopen, the payments will resume. That means lawmakers need to hear from their constituents, Baker said.

“You have voting rights, your voice matters. Contact your legislator and tell them about your anxieties, your hopes, your dreams, and your reality of your family situation,” Baker said.

And though food banks will be unable to meet the demand on their own, donations still help. You can find ways to contribute at the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, and at the other major food banks and pantries in the state. 

The state has also issued guidance for people who need immediate food resources, urging them to call 2-1-1 or visit the NCDHHS website to be connected to food banks and pantries.

Because SNAP benefits roll over month to month, if you have previous funds left in your SNAP account after Nov. 1, they will still be available to you.

The longer the shutdown goes on, however, the more the hunger crisis will worsen.

“I don’t wanna be doomsday here, but it is a grave concern for the health and wellbeing of our people,” Baker said. 

“This  is new territory in our lifetimes,” she said. “The rug is being pulled out from underneath families.”

And what waits underneath the rug? What will these families hit when they fall?

“We don’t know,” Baker said. “But it’s very scary.”