The 2025 government shutdown is now the longest in history. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits have been cut, then ordered to be paid back again, but it’s still unclear how long it will take for payments to be fully funded.
“[SNAP is] basically money allocated from the government for low income households to purchase food,” school counselor Mary Peterson said. “You qualify based on your income level, and you get an allocation of a certain amount per month, and you can just go use that to buy your groceries. So it’s just a way to make sure that people who might struggle purchasing food have a way to do so throughout the month.”
At City High, 43% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. According to Peterson, these students usually also qualify for SNAP under a regularly functioning government…