Volunteers unload pallets at a San Antonio Food Bank distribution. Credit: Twitter / @safoodbank
The Trump administration on Monday said it will restart SNAP food benefits. However, the payment amount will be cut substantially, and San Antonio residents may not see benefits return until early next week.
The White House said it will resume payments of SNAP, which stands for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, starting Wednesday. However, it will take three to four more days for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to process the restart so people can buy food using their state-issued Lone Star Cards, a San Antonio Food Bank official said.
“It may be Saturday or more likely Monday before people in San Antonio begin seeing it,” Michael Guerra, chief philanthropy officer for the nonprofit, told the Current.
An estimated 130,000 San Antonio families lost food aid over the weekend due to the administration’s funding cut. Some 42 million depend on the program nationwide.
The administration’s decision to resume SNAP payments comes after a pair of federal judges ruled that it unlawfully froze payments for the program. Trump’s U.S. Department of Agriculture said it could no longer afford to fund during the government shutdown.
White House officials said they’ll use a contingency fund that can cover $5 billion of the $8 billion monthly total required to cover SNAP, otherwise known as food stamps, NPR reports, citing court documents.
As the SNAP cut loomed last week, San Antonio Food Bank officials pledged to step up local food distributions. On Friday, San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones said the city has also raised $1.6 million in donations to support households and individuals reliant on the program.
“In the meantime, we’re going to continue to be a backstop and make sure people get help,” Guerra said of the ongoing federal shutdown and the reduction to benefits.
Even so, the Food Bank provides just one meal for local residents in need for ever nine covered by SNAP, meaning the nonprofit will be stretched to make up the difference. While the organization won’t turn people away, it may need to reduce the size of food boxes it provides as the shutdown drags on, Guerra added.
“So, if someone’s already received one box from us, the next one may only be three-quarters as full,” he said.
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