President Donald Trump’s administration said Monday that it will partially fund SNAP after a pair of judges’ rulings required it to keep the food aid program running.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture had planned to freeze payments to SNAP starting Nov. 1 because it said it could no longer keep funding it due to the shutdown. The program serves about 1 in 8 Americans and is a major piece of the nation’s social safety net. It costs about $8 billion per month nationally.
Officials at the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services aren’t sure how long the benefits delay could last and are waiting on word from the USDA.
“What I can tell you now is that approximately 1.4 million Ohioans receive a total of $264 million in food benefits from SNAP each month,” said Thomas Betti, communications director of the state jobs department. “The average monthly SNAP benefit per person is about $190. The distribution of those benefits is staggered through the 20th of each month.”
Betti declined to say how many people are currently behind on their SNAP disbursements as of Monday.
And for now, county job and family services departments are also in the dark.
Clark County Department of Job and Family Services Director Thomas McGrath said residents who typically would have received benefits in the first few days of the month have not seen a payment come to their EBT cards.
“But the state has been very active with informing us,” McGrath said.
McGrath said his department will update its website and communicate with the public about updates related to their SNAP benefits.
Damien Alexander of Dayton was shopping at Kroger on Siebenthaler Avenue when he found out some SNAP benefits would come through.
“It’s pretty dope, and will help out,” Alexander said.
Howard said the increased need at the Pantry started long before the shutdown ever happened, and it’s only gotten worse as a result.
“Year to date we’re 30% higher than last year. This week alone we signed up 23 new families,” she said.
The Pantry served 18,000 people in 2024, 60% of whom which were adults over 60 years old and children under 18.
SNAP being defunded would have “drastically” affected the demand on their services, Howard said, but the bigger impact has been the rise in food costs.
Last year the Pantry was able to get $9 worth of food and products for every $1 donated. That’s down to $4 this year since they are paying retail price for more and more items.
“It still sounds good, but when you’re serving 18,000 people a year, it hits hard,” Howard said.
Lee Truesdale, chief development officer at The Foodbank Inc., said the organization had already seen an increase in food demand in the last month.
At a mass food distribution in Preble County in mid-October, Truesdale said they gave goods to 485 households, a significant increase above normal. Truesdale said it’s not clear why there was an increase but speculated that some families may have wanted to stock up due to uncertainty.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
The Foodbank Inc. has also seen an increase in calls seeking help, she said.
Truesdale said the $25 million that Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine authorized will help with distribution, as well as the $500,000 from Montgomery County. The Foodbank Inc. has also seen an increase in individual donations.
“Our agencies and we are committed to making sure that people don’t go hungry,” Truesdale said.
In the wake of the government shutdown, the Montgomery County commission last week approved $500,000 in funding to The Foodbank Inc. in anticipation of an uptick in need among families experiencing a gap in their benefits.
A Montgomery County spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment about SNAP funding.
Homefull’s Gettysburg Grocery is offering all customers 10% off groceries throughout November to help with rising food costs.
“With so many in our community feeling the effects of the shutdown, we want to do what we can to ease the burden,” said Tina Patterson, CEO of Homefull.
Greene County FISH Pantry volunteer Dan Tieman said that in addition to financial and food donations, the FISH Pantry needs volunteers to help with the greater need.
“We’re up against it. We’re just getting slaughtered,” Tieman said.
The pantry provides emergency food and care items to people and families experiencing food insecurity in Greene County. He said they’re seeing up to 150 families on busy days.
The FISH Pantry needs volunteers experienced in fundraising, mechanical work and grant writing.
