SNAP payments will cease in November; stress on food pantries will increase, Utah Food Bank head warns.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Food banks, which were seeing increased demand earlier this year, are an option for people who won’t receive food stamp payments in November.
The second-longest shutdown in history is now affecting hundreds of thousands of Utahns’ access to food.
Beehive State residents will not receive November payments for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the Utah Department of Workforce Services announced Wednesday.
SNAP, also known as food stamps, is fully funded by the federal government and, the state said, helps about 86,000 Utah households buy food each month.
The aid covered 169,300 Utahns between Oct. 1, 2023, and Sept. 30, 2024, according to the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and 69% of recipients were part of families with kids.
Workforce Services does not anticipate that SNAP payments will resume until the federal government reopens.
The state encouraged Utahns receiving SNAP to plan for a total interruption in SNAP services if the shutdown continues past Nov. 1. There is a chance cards will not work after that date, the state explained, even if there is a balance in the account.
Families will still have access to the special nutrition program for women infants and children, known as WIC, because those benefits are covered by contingency funds issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
But WIC does not cover the same broad grocery needs as SNAP.
Gina Cornia, executive director of Utahns Against Hunger, described the unavailability of the benefit funding a “demonstration of why we need a functioning federal government.”
It’s “unconscionable,” she said, that federal lawmakers’ inability to “get their act together” has put low-income people in a difficult position.
“It’s not just extra food. It’s not just being able to buy a birthday cake,” Cornia said. “It is [the] essentials.”
The state recommends people go to food banks and pantries for immediate food assistance.
Pantries, though, “cannot be expected to pick up this difference of 86,000 families,” said Utah Food Bank CEO Ginette Bott, though they can help.
Food banks already were seeing increased demand earlier this year after COVID-19 pandemic demand never died down and inflation, the threat of tariffs and impending federal layoffs exacerbated people’s finances.
Utah Food Bank is reviewing inventory and opportunities to change the frequency of distribution, she said, but it’s hard to make decisions until officials see whatever influx happens come Nov. 1.
And they will need Utahns to step up, Bott said, and lend support.
“Regardless of whether it’s a faith-based pantry or it’s a Utah Food Bank pantry,” Bott added, “we’re going to need help from the public.”
There is always a need for help around the holidays, she said, but it will be more urgent now.
People can donate food to help provide variety in options, she said, as well as money to help with distribution and time as pantries may need additional helping hands.
There is contingency funding available for SNAP benefits, according to the Center of Budget and Policy Priorities.
Cornia encouraged people to call their congressional representatives and demand they reach out to tell USDA they need to release that contingency funding and secure November benefits
“We can’t go through the end of the year with people not having SNAP benefits,” she said. “It’s not possible.”
Where to find help
People can call 211 or go to 211utah.org to find food pantries, meal sites and other nearby services.
There also is information on emergency food resources available through Utahns Against Hunger.
The state indicated it will not know when benefits can resume until the government reopens and recommended people check jobs.utah.gov/mycase for the fastest and most accurate updates.
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