‘Absolutely a lifeline’: Multnomah County approves $100K in food assistance amid SNAP lapse

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — As the restoration of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program remains uncertain, Multnomah County is utilizing emergency funds to help struggling residents.

On Thursday, the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to allocate $100,000 of its $1.24 million General Fund Contingency toward food resources. The Oregon Food Bank will receive about $75,000, while the remaining $25,000 will be distributed among the county’s four districts.

Officials previously announced there were 143,000 SNAP recipients within the county who would be impacted by a lapse in benefits due to the federal government shutdown, which has since become the longest in U.S. history.

The number of local recipients impacted by the program pause includes more than 38,000 children, 18,000 elderly adults and thousands of veterans and people with disabilities, according to County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson.

“SNAP is absolutely a lifeline for families in Multnomah County and we also know that our existing food security and hunger relief organizations cannot fill the gap created by the loss of SNAP benefits,” Vega Pederson said during the meeting.

“The longer we wait, the greater the need grows,” added Multnomah County Commissioner Julia Brim Edwards.

The board’s approval of the budget modification came soon before a federal judge ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to fully fund the food assistance program this month.

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield called the ruling a victory for families. However, the timing of when recipients will see the money remains unclear.

“There is no excuse for shortchanging families who are already struggling,” Rayfield said in a statement. “The Court’s ruling confirms that the federal government must fully fund SNAP, and that it has both the authority and the resources to do so. Families deserve the full benefits they depend on each month, and we’re moving forward to make sure they get them.”

Meanwhile, Jen Turner — associate director of partnerships and programs at the Oregon Food Bank — told commissioners that the organization’s Multnomah County network reported 710,000 pantry visits and distributed nearly 25 million pounds of food from July 2024 to June 2025.

“This network has been incredibly strained prior to the converging crises of SNAP benefits lapsing and the escalation in immigration enforcement destabilizing our communities,” Turner said.

She added that OFB’s Multnomah County partners reported a 45% increase in visitors in the past week alone, as they’ve had to ration food and turn some families away.

Other parts of Oregon are also stepping up to fill the need. In Hillsboro, volunteers at the Salvation Army Hope Center are racing to meet the soaring demand.

The center just received 30,000 pounds of food donations, helping families while federal food assistance is still paused.

“One of the things that we’re experiencing is just a lot of concern and fear about how they’re going to provide for themselves and for their families,” said Adam Harvey with the Washington County Salvation Army. “When we pull together, we can actually overcome need and actually combat poverty and hunger.”

The tri-county area, in general, is pooling its resources, as Washington, Clackamas and Multnomah counties have all declared states of emergencies to tap into contingency funds to provide food assistance.

Washington County has also authorized up to $250,000 in contingency funds to help fight food insecurity, while Clackamas County Commissioners have also finalized how they’ll use $100,000 in emergency funding.

In Clackamas, $80,000 will go directly to local food banks and $20,000 is reserved to support women, infants and children, or WIC, a lifeline for many struggling to put food on the table.

On Thursday, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek also directed $1 million in emergency funds to Oregon’s nine tribes to fight food insecurity. That’s in addition to the $5 million already allocated to the Oregon Food Bank Network.