Nearly 170,000 Mainers won’t receive SNAP benefits in November due to government shutdown

Because of the ongoing federal government shutdown, Mainers who rely on the nation’s largest anti-hunger program won’t receive benefits next month. 

The Maine Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service notified every state that November funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP, won’t be issued at this time. This comes after the department received notice earlier this month that this was a possibility. 

More than one in 10 Mainers throughout the state rely on these benefits, but the need is markedly higher in Androscoggin, Aroostook, Piscataquis, Somerset and Washington counties. In total, just shy of 170,000 Mainers receive SNAP benefits. They are among the more than 42 million Americans across the country who rely on the program. 

SNAP benefits on pace to run out in two weeks if shutdown persists

“For tens of thousands of Maine people, these benefits mean the ability to put food on the table,” said DHHS Commissioner Sara Gagné-Holmes. “A disruption of this scale will also impact Maine’s food pantries, which are vital partners in helping communities meet basic needs, as well as retailers.”

Last Thursday, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins warned that SNAP will run out of funds in two weeks if Congress fails to strike a deal and end the government shutdown.

On average, a family of four in Maine who receives SNAP benefits gets $572 per month. Three-quarters of Maine’s SNAP households include at least one working adult and more than half include a person with a disability. More than one-third of those households have children.

November SNAP benefits can’t be issued until the shutdown ends or there is new federal guidance, the department said. However, benefits already loaded onto EBT cards can still be used to buy food. 

Alex Carter, a policy advocate for Maine Equal Justice said, “no one should go hungry because of the federal shutdown.” Instead, she said the nonprofit civil legal aid and economic justice organization is asking Maine’s congressional delegation to ensure that the Trump administration use SNAP contingency funds to pay for November benefits.

The department said it will continue to process applications, renewals and other updates during the shutdown. Additionally, when the shutdown ends, the department said there will be more information about the future of federal SNAP benefits. 

SNAP recipients can sign up for electronic updates through the My Maine Connection portal for state benefits.