As food pantry shelves in Southeast Kansas should be filling for the holidays, they are instead beginning to go bare, the demand is so great.
That’s because of the fear that the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is running out of funding due to the federal government shutdown.
A reprieve may be on tap.
On Friday, two federal judges ruled nearly simultaneously that the Trump administration must use Department of Agriculture contingency funds to continue SNAP benefits despite the shutdown.
These rulings came just ahead of USDA’s planned freeze, though it remains unclear how quickly debit cards used by beneficiaries will be reloaded — the process often takes one to two weeks.
The shutdown began Oct. 1 when Congress failed to pass a full-year appropriations bill. Congress also failed to pass a temporary measure, known as a continuing resolution, to keep the government funded.
Without action, an estimated 42 million Americans who depend on monthly SNAP benefits will find their November aid delayed or cut altogether. The USDA warned that its contingency funds, roughly $5 billion, would cover only about 60% of what’s needed for the month. That leaves a $9 billion gap that could reverberate through grocery stores, gas stations, and dinner tables nationwide.
IN ALLEN COUNTY, food pantry directors say they’re already bracing for what could become a perfect storm of need.
Each day in Iola, Humanity House Director Barbara Button watches the number of people coming into the pantry grow larger. Some are familiar faces. Others are new — people who never imagined they’d need to visit a food pantry.
“Last week we served 12 households, 37 individuals,” Button said. “This week, it was 36 households, feeding 112 people. That’s a threefold jump in seven days.” In September, Humanity House gave out 6,691 pounds of food. In October — 8,336 pounds. A 25% increase in a month’s time.
With the Department for Children and Families (DCF) in Kansas stating that November benefits have been suspended until sufficient federal funding is provided, many households statewide may face a month without food assistance, forcing them to rely on the help of food pantries.
In her 18 months on the job, Button says the atmosphere this fall feels different. It feels heavier and more uncertain. “It’s not just food insecurity anymore,” she explained. “It’s the fear of what’s coming. People are hearing about SNAP possibly stopping, and they’re scared.”
The nonprofit, tucked inside a small brick building just off Iola’s town square at 110 East St., has always kept an open-door policy. “If you’re hungry, you can come. That’s our rule,” Button said. “We don’t ask for proof of income or paperwork. You need food, you get food.”
The shelves in the pantry tell their own story: rows of canned goods, boxes of pasta, and a dwindling supply of peanut butter.
ACROSS THE country, food banks and governors’ offices are scrambling to prepare. USDA officials have notified states that no November SNAP payments can be guaranteed without congressional funding.
Several states – from Louisiana to Vermont – have already begun scrambling with emergency measures because of the looming November cutoff, while Kansas officials have joined a multi-state lawsuit alleging the USDA’s action is unlawful.
If the program stalls, the impact will be swift. In Kansas alone, roughly 200,000 households rely on SNAP each month, and the expected total distribution for November would have been more than $34.4 million. That money doesn’t just feed families; it circulates back into local economies through grocery stores, gas stations, and farmers’ markets.
“Each dollar in SNAP generates about $1.54 in GDP,” Button said, citing USDA data. “That’s money that supports local jobs in food retail, transportation, and supply chains.”
