SAN ANTONIO – 3.5 million Texans will be left struggling to put food on the table if the government shutdown continues past Friday. That includes 184,000 in Bexar County, putting those families in uncharted territory.
Congressman Joaquin Castro is urging the state to intervene where the federal government has not. He’s pushing for Texas to use its $24 billion rainy day fund to maintain SNAP benefits.
“This is the first time in SNAP’s 60-year history that the federal government is refusing to provide assistance to families. The first time in 60 years that the government has been cutting people off,” said Castro.
Castro toured the San Antonio Food Pantry run by SATX Inner City Development. We were able to ask Congressman Castro directly about what he’s doing to try and end the shutdown.
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“I’ve been going back to Washington, putting pressure on the Speaker and really everyone to reopen the government. I’ve been sharing the stories of San Antonians,” said Castro.
In San Antonio, food pantries are already feeling the strain. Patti Radle, co-executive director of Inner City Development, noted an increase in demand.
“Usually as a small food pantry, we see two to three families a day. Yesterday we saw ten, and what came through the door was fear,” said Radle.
Pamela Allen from Eagles Flight Advocacy and Outreach reported that their pantry is running low on supplies, saying.
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“Feeding who we can, because we still have all of next week to go,” said Allen.
Castro is also calling on Gov. Greg Abbott to join a multi-state lawsuit against the Trump administration to address the crisis.