TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Unless the U.S. government shutdown ends this weekend, 3.5 million Texans on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Plan, or SNAP, won’t get benefits for November.
Texans to lose Nov. SNAP benefits if shutdown continues
Similarly, a federally funded supplemental nutrition program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) also sits on the verge of ending in November. Texas Health and Human Service’s (Texas HHS) has a webpage to provide updates on assistance programs.
Texas HHS said it will monitor the situation as it develops, and provide additional guidance if SNAP funding resumes later in November or if the shutdown extends into December. It said recipients should “continue to report changes and follow instructions and deadlines forrenewing benefits.”
More than 100K Central Texas kids are experiencing food insecurity
Texas has the highest population of food insecure people in the country, affecting one in six homes, according to the nonprofit Feeding Texas.
Unused benefits remain, but long shelf life food recommended
Unused SNAP benefits don’t necessarily need to be spent before the end of October and will still be usable in November.
That said, Arkansas’ Department of Human Services recommended its recipients use their remaining benefits on shelf-stable food. Those are typically foods that have been canned, dried or smoked, as well as rice, pasta, cereal and infant formula…