BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Food banks across Texas are preparing for increased demand as SNAP benefits are set to halt Saturday, affecting millions of Americans who rely on the program for food assistance.
In the Brazos Valley, nearly 33,000 people depend on the SNAP program to put food on the table, with half of those recipients being children.
“I think a special meal on Thanksgiving is going to be unattainable for that number of people,” said Theresa Mangapora, Executive Director of the Brazos Valley Food Bank. “We have a lot of groups that try to do dinners for Thanksgiving. Are they prepared to do that for 15,000 households? I doubt it.”
Manapora says it’s no fault of any foodbank or pantry, but that food assistance programs like SNAP are a great safety net, and without them, a lot of people will have a hard time staying on their feet.
HEB donation provides relief
Mangapora said mounting pressure on food banks statewide to prepare for an influx of people received unexpected help from a Texas grocery chain donation.
“I’m going to be real honest with you, we didn’t have a plan and something really amazing happened on Monday,” Mangapora said. “HEB made a 5-million-dollar gift, not to us but to all the food banks in Texas and our allotment is a very nice amount and since we didn’t budget for those funds, we’re going to use those funds entirely to purchase more food.”
Legal challenge and federal response
On Tuesday, a coalition of Democratic-run states sued the Trump administration to prevent the cuts to SNAP. The states hoped to use a federal contingency fund with roughly $5 billion in it.
The White House says the Department of Agriculture doesn’t have the power to use its contingency fund to cover the SNAP program.
“I don’t know why we would kind of bend over backwards to try to fix a problem that Democrats could fix by just voting to reopen the government,” said Texas Senator John Cornyn. “But if they continue to do what I believe is an incredibly profoundly dumb thing, which is to keep the government shut down, then we’ll look for ways to try to deal with it the best we can to cushion some of the blow.”
Program details and work requirements
Although SNAP benefits are being halted, SNAP EBT readers in stores will not be shut down, and the remaining balance on those cards can still be used. WIC benefits will also not be affected in November.
New work requirements are also going into place on Saturday. The age limit for able-bodied adults without dependents has increased from 59 to 65. Those in this age group must work, participate in a training program, or look for work for at least 80 hours per month to continue receiving benefits beyond a three-month limit.
In addition to adults aged 18-54 who are already subject to work requirements, the following groups will need to comply with work requirements to maintain benefits starting Saturday:
Adults aged 55-64 Parents or caregivers of children aged 14 or older Veterans Adults experiencing homelessness Youth aged 18-24 who are aging out of foster care
According to Mangapora, while the government is shut down and SNAP benefits are not being issued, the work requirement cannot be enforced. But once the government opens back up, to get SNAP for the first time, people will need to adhere to work requirements. Those already on the SNAP rolls will need to adhere to work requirements once they recertify for benefits.
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