SNAP Benefits Ending November 1st Amid Federal Shutdown

WACO, Texas (FOX 44) — The USDA announced on Monday that SNAP benefits will end on November 1st.

The USDA cited the ongoing federal shutdown as being the cause behind the end of SNAP benefits. This change will affect the nearly 42 million Americans and 3.5 million Texans who rely on SNAP every day.

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McLennan County already faces a food insecurity problem, and Mia Medina with No Kid Hungry Texas says that the loss of SNAP funding won’t make it any better.

“Within McLennan County, we already see high rates of food insecurity where one in four kids is at risk of hunger, according to Feeding America,” said Medina. “The total number of McLennan County residents affected potentially affected by lapses to snap, is estimated to be about 30,000 people.”

Rising food costs have made financial decisions increasingly difficult for families across America. Medina says that families are having to choose between feeding themselves or paying their bills, a problem she expects will only grow.

“We did a recent poll here in Texas that found 71 percent of all Texans have had to choose between paying for food and doing things like paying for rent, utilities or even medical bills,” said Medina. “This data was collected in September before the shutdown, so we expect this number to increase even more.”

According to Medina there is a $5-6 billion contingency fund meant to cover the cost of SNAP benefits in situations like the shutdown, but the USDA is not tapping into them.

“It was created to fund SNAP during emergency situations like this. In its pre-shutdown plan, the USDA stated that multi-year contingency funds were intended to keep snap operations and benefits running during federal funding lapses like we have now,” said Medina. “The agency now claims that contingency funds cannot be used for November SNAP benefits because there is no fiscal year 2026 appropriations, which marks a shift from their earlier stance.”

For people who may need assistance with food during the government shutdown, there are several organizations and food banks across the McLennan county area which can be found here.