States Provide Emergency SNAP Aid Amid Shutdown

The federal government shutdown has frozen SNAP and related food-assistance programs, pausing benefits for roughly 1.4 million Ohioans and hundreds of thousands more across the Midwest (about 260,000 in Iowa and more than 23,000 Minnesota families). Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed an executive order authorizing up to $25 million — $7 million to regional food banks and up to $18 million in emergency relief, including boosted Ohio Works First benefits for very low-income households — to temporarily cover lost SNAP support. Minnesota’s MFIP cash and grocery support (about $20 million a month) has been halted, leaving some families without roughly $650 a month, while Michigan committed $4.5 million to food bank aid. Missouri launched a statewide food drive (Nov. 3–Dec. 12) and expedited a $5 million TANF release to regional food banks. In Iowa, Democratic lawmakers urged Gov. Kim Reynolds to tap up to $107 million in leftover ARP interest to replace SNAP and Reynolds pledged up to $1 million in matching funds for food banks; state leaders stressed these are stopgap measures and urged Congress to pass a continuing resolution to restore federal benefits.