ORLANDO, Fla. — The government shutdown may be over, but the aftershocks are still hitting millions of families who rely on SNAP benefits. Advocates say the delays and confusion won’t disappear overnight.
What You Need To Know
SNAP delays from the shutdown left families choosing between groceries and basic bills
No Kid Hungry says 1 in 5 Florida children lack guaranteed meals
Heart of Florida United Way reported a 114% spike in 211 calls for food assistance
Advocates warn the surge in need may continue through the holiday season as SNAP backlogs clear
Families are now untangling weeks of missed paychecks and backlogged SNAP benefits.
“You know, you really saw families having to make really difficult choices,” said Sky Beard, Florida Director of No Kid Hungry. “Having to make tradeoffs about ‘am I going to pay the electric bill or am I going to make that run to the grocery store so that my children have access to food?’”
Beard says during the shutdown, the lapse in SNAP benefits, affected more than 40 million Americans, including 16 million children.
She added that in Florida, one in five kids are living in homes where meals are not a guarantee. During this time, kids were hit hard, and are still feeling the ripple effects.
“We saw over the last couple weeks how critically important SNAP is to addressing food and security across Florida, across the country. We’ve also seen really how fragile that food system is,” Beard said.
Many nonprofits, including Heart of Florida United Way, say they’re seeing the aftermath firsthand. Calls to their 211 hotline spiked by 114% as families searched for help and answers.
“Individuals were calling to try to find the nearest food bank, (asking) where they would be able to find a meal to put on the table for their family. Maybe even for that evening. That was a tremendous increase,” said Graciela Noriega-Jacoby, COO of Heart of Florida United Way.
The shutdown, Noriega-Jacoby says, created far more than a gap in benefits, it created weeks of uncertainty for many families.
“One of the things that we don’t see from the impacts of the federal shutdown is this fear, the anxiety, the stress that is put upon so many people who rely on basic needs — food, housing, even child care,” she said.
Advocates say it could take weeks for SNAP benefits to fully catch up. The weight of playing catch-up is heightened, and the surge in need may last well into the holiday season.