Uncertainty with SNAP benefits leaves families struggling in Orlando
MEREDITH, WESH TWO NEWS. NEARLY 5 MILLION SNAP RECIPIENTS WILL NOT GET ANY BENEFITS IN NOVEMBER UNDER THE WHITE HOUSE’S PLAN TO COMPLY WITH A COURT ORDER, THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SAYS IT WOULD ISSUE PARTIAL BENEFITS THIS MONTH BY TAPPING INTO THE EMERGENCY FUND. BUT SOME FAMILIES GETTING ASSISTANCE MAKE TOO MUCH MONEY TO GET THE PARTIAL BENEFITS, ACCORDING TO NEW ANALYSIS. THE COURT ALSO GAVE THE USDA THE OPTION OF SHIFTING OTHER MONEY TO SNAP TO ENABLE IT TO PAY FULL BENEFITS IN NOVEMBER, BUT THE AGENCY DECLINED, CITING RISKS TO OTHER NUTRITION PROGRAMS. FOR THOSE WHO WILL GET SNAP BENEFITS, IT WILL LIKELY BE CUT IN HALF. WESH TWO LINDSAY SABLAN TOOK A LOOK AT THE IMPACT THAT’S HAVING ON FAMILIES RIGHT BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS. YEAH, JUST TERRIBLE TIMING. SHE’S LIVE AT SECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK, WHERE THE COMMUNITY IS REALLY STEPPING UP. LINDSAY. AND AS YOU CAN SEE RIGHT BEHIND ME, THIS RADIO STATION IS POSITIONED OUT HERE. THEY HAVE BEEN LIVE OUT HERE SINCE 6:00 THIS MORNING, BROADCASTING, ASKING FOR THE COMMUNITY TO COME OUT AND DONATE FOOD. AND IF YOU CAN, IF YOU’RE HOME WATCHING RIGHT NOW, THEY’LL BE HERE FOR TWO MORE HOURS. BUT AS I SAW EARLIER TODAY, AS QUICKLY AS THAT FOOD COMES IN, IT GOES RIGHT BACK OUT BECAUSE THE NEED IS SO GREAT. VEGETABLES, MILK AND MEAT ALL ESSENTIALS YOU NEED TO LIVE ON. HANDED OUT BY THESE VOLUNTEERS AT ANIKA IN ORLANDO, WE ARE POOR. THEY HAVE TO THINK A LITTLE BIT IN THE POOR PEOPLE’S 75 YEAR OLD. MILANO IS JUST ONE OF HUNDREDS WHO SHOWED UP TO THIS FOOD DRIVE ON THURSDAY. SHE WAS RELUCTANT TO SPEAK AT FIRST, BUT OPENED UP TO HELP EVERYONE UNDERSTAND THE DESPERATION. RIGHT NOW, THE ROOM THAT I RAN BEFORE, I CANNOT RENT ANYMORE AND I WENT TO HER HOUSE TO LIVE WITH HER BECAUSE I DON’T HAVE. HOW TO PAY A ROOM. YEAH, I’M BARELY MAKING IT, BARELY MAKING IT, AND NOW IT’S GOING TO BE HARDER. ON THE USDA’S WEBSITE, IT SHOWS THE NEW ALLOTMENTS FOR SNAP RECIPIENTS THIS MONTH BASICALLY CUT IN HALF. YOU SEE, FOR A FAMILY OF TWO, THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT YOU WOULD RECEIVE WAS $546. NOW IT’S 273 FOR A FAMILY OF FOUR, THE MAXIMUM IN A NORMAL MONTH, $994. THIS MONTH 497. AND THAT’S THE MAX. A LOT OF PEOPLE I TALKED TO WERE GETTING FAR LESS. SO DO YOU GET A $112 FOR THE BOTH OF YOU A MONTH? YES, YES, MA’AM. FOR THE HOUSEHOLD? YEAH. THAT’S IT. 112 SALMAN SIDDIQUI WORKS THIS DRIVE IN A PANTRY DISTRIBUTION ON WEEKENDS. IN THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, THEY WOULD SERVE ABOUT 200 FAMILIES. ON SATURDAY. LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS WE HAVE GONE UP TO ABOUT 350. AND THEN IN THE PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, ESPECIALLY THIS PAST WEEKEND, WE SERVED ABOUT 450 FAMILIES PROVIDING FOOD AND DIGNITY TO NEIGHBORS IN NEED. AND THE OTHER ISSUE RIGHT NOW IS WE DO NOT KNOW WHEN THOSE EBT CARDS ARE GOING TO BE RELOADED. EACH STATE HANDLES THAT PROCESS DIFFERENCE. ONCE THE FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION PASSES THAT MONEY DOWN, AND A TIMELINE HAS NOT YET BEEN RELEASED. COVERING ORANGE COUNTY LIVE IN ORLANDO, LINDSAY LOHAN, WESH TWO NEWS. ALL RIGHT, LINDSAY, AND WE WANT TO REMIND YOU, ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IS COLLECTING DONATIONS FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AFFECTED BY THE SHUTDOWN. AS OF NOW, TOMORROW IS THE LAST DAY TO HELP TSA AND AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS WHO HAVEN’T BEEN PAID SINCE OCTOBER 1ST. YOU CAN DROP OFF NONPERISHABLE FOODS, CLEANING AND LAUNDRY SUPPLIES, PET SUPPLIES, AND $10 GIFT CARDS FOR GAS. THIS IS ALL HAPPENING AT TERMINAL C DEPARTURES AND ORLANDO EXECUTIVE AIRPORT AS WELL. AND DON’T FORGET WESH 2’S 40TH ANNUAL SHARE YOUR CHRISTMAS IS COMING UP. WE WILL BE COLLECTING DONATIONS FOR SECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK ON DECEMBER 12TH A
Uncertainty with SNAP benefits leaves families struggling in Orlando
Updated: 5:31 PM EST Nov 6, 2025
A federal judge in Rhode Island has ordered the Trump administration to find the money to fully fund SNAP benefits for November.Cities and nonprofits complained the administration was only offering to cover 65% of the maximum benefit after it said it would not pay anything due to the government shutdown. ICNA Relief in Orlando is one of the partner agencies with Second Harvest Food Bank. Thursday, volunteers distributed essentials like vegetables, milk and meat.Tarcis Milano, a 75-year-old attendee of a food drive, expressed the desperation many are feeling.”We are poor. They have to think a little bit in the poor people,” Milano said. She shared her personal struggles, saying, “The room that I rent before I cannot rent it anymore, and I went to her house to live with her because I don’t have how to pay a room.”Another attendee shared his challenges, stating, “I’m barely making it.” Prior to Thursday’s ruling, the USDA’s website showed new allotments for SNAP recipients this month, essentially cut in half.For a family of two, the maximum amount was $546, now reduced to $273. For a family of four, the maximum was $994, now $497.Many people are receiving far less than these maximum amounts. One recipient confirmed, “Do you get $112 for the both of you a month? Yes, yes, ma’am, yeah. $112. That’s it.”Salman Siddiqui, the Director of Central Florida ICNA Relief, noted the increasing demand. “The last couple months, we’ve gone up to about 350 and then in the past couple of weeks, especially this past weekend, we served about 450 families,” Siddiqui said.The community continues to provide food and dignity to neighbors in need.
ORLANDO, Fla. —
A federal judge in Rhode Island has ordered the Trump administration to find the money to fully fund SNAP benefits for November.
Cities and nonprofits complained the administration was only offering to cover 65% of the maximum benefit after it said it would not pay anything due to the government shutdown.
ICNA Relief in Orlando is one of the partner agencies with Second Harvest Food Bank. Thursday, volunteers distributed essentials like vegetables, milk and meat.
Tarcis Milano, a 75-year-old attendee of a food drive, expressed the desperation many are feeling.
“We are poor. They have to think a little bit in the poor people,” Milano said. She shared her personal struggles, saying, “The room that I rent before I cannot rent it anymore, and I went to her house to live with her because I don’t have how to pay a room.”
Another attendee shared his challenges, stating, “I’m barely making it.” Prior to Thursday’s ruling, the USDA’s website showed new allotments for SNAP recipients this month, essentially cut in half.
For a family of two, the maximum amount was $546, now reduced to $273. For a family of four, the maximum was $994, now $497.
Many people are receiving far less than these maximum amounts. One recipient confirmed, “Do you get $112 for the both of you a month? Yes, yes, ma’am, yeah. $112. That’s it.”
Salman Siddiqui, the Director of Central Florida ICNA Relief, noted the increasing demand. “The last couple months, we’ve gone up to about 350 and then in the past couple of weeks, especially this past weekend, we served about 450 families,” Siddiqui said.
The community continues to provide food and dignity to neighbors in need.