November Hunger Crisis Imminent If Federal Shutdown Continues One More Week

Trump Administration Threatens to Deprive More than 3.45 Million People – and Over 22,000 Food Retailers – in Texas  Alone of $614 Million in Food Payments Per Month Due to Shutdown

Hunger Leader Calls for Senators Cornyn and Cruz and Texas’s G.O.P. Lawmakers to End the Shutdown with a Bipartisan Budget Deal that Restores Healthcare Support in order to Limit Increasing U.S. Hunger

In Texas, more than one in ten residents – over 11.4% – rely on SNAP.

Nearly 42 million Americans – including more than 3.45 million in Texas alone – are at imminent risk of losing access to sufficient food as soon as November if the federal shutdown lasts one week longer. Trump’s Department of Agriculture just informed New York and other states that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as Food Stamps) – which is, by far, the largest domestic anti-hunger program – will not be able to make November payments if the shutdown does not end very soon.

Nationwide, 41.7 million Americans would have their SNAP payments delayed, which would postpone them getting about $7.9 billion worth of food that is due to them in November. That would also mean a delay of nearly $8 billion in income for more than 250,000 food retailers nationwide.

In Texas alone, that would equal roughly 3.45 million state residents experiencing delays in receiving approximately $614 million in November SNAP benefits. That would also mean a loss of  $614 million in income for more than 22,000 food retailers statewide.

Federal programs like SNAP, WIC, and school meals have, dollar for dollar, 17 times the impact of the U.S. charitable anti-hunger support system, according to calculations by Hunger Free America. Food pantries, food banks, and soup kitchens were originally designed to address temporary hunger emergencies. Such emergency food programs nationwide are already widely reporting that they are unable to meet the current surging demand for food.