U.S. government shutdown jeopardizes "Food Stamps" for November

The partial shutdown of the federal government in the United States threatens to leave millions of families who depend on the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), commonly known as “food stamps,” without food assistance.

Officials and experts warn that if the budget stalemate continues, benefits could be suspended as of November, cited the local press.

"What we are hearing is that the federal government has instructed states not to distribute the November benefits until further notice", explained Holly Bullard, director of the Florida Policy Institute (FPI), an independent organization that advocates for public policies to improve the quality of life for Floridians.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which administers the program, warned that the available funds will only last for the next two weeks.

We are about to run out of money. Millions of vulnerable families, families suffering from hunger, could lose access to these programs because of the shutdown, declared the Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins.

The SNAP provides food assistance to one in every eight people in the United States. In Florida alone, the program channels over 7 billion dollars annually and supports the nutrition of nearly three million people.

Many families are worried, watching what happens in Washington, and they may have to go into debt or skip meals to feed their children if the funding is not restored in November, Bullard warned.

The government shutdown —caused by the stalemate in Congress regarding the approval of the federal budget— has left numerous social and administrative programs stalled.

Democrats accuse the Donald Trump administration of prioritizing military and immigration expenditures over assistance programs, while the White House blames the opposition for “hindered” approval of essential funds.

Secretary Rollins directly blamed Democratic lawmakers for the budget impasse, while local leaders of the Democratic Party argued that the real cuts to SNAP stem from the measures contained in the "Big Beautiful Bill Act", passed on July 4, which reallocated part of the social funds towards border security and deportations.

For example, Trump did guarantee the salaries of the military in the month of October by allocating Pentagon funds for that purpose. 

The government has been closed for over 20 days, a situation that threatens to extend to become the longest in the country's history.

If an agreement is not reached in the coming days, the food benefits will be suspended at the beginning of November.