More than 100,000 residents across the Coastal Bend are among 3.5 million Texans who will go without federal food assistance in November after a government shutdown forced the suspension of SNAP benefits.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps, halted payments due to insufficient federal funding, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service.
Across 11 counties in the KRISTV viewing area, 100,986 individuals received SNAP benefits in September, totaling more than $17.2 million in monthly food assistance, according to data from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. Nueces County accounts for nearly 60% of recipients in the region, with 60,305 individuals receiving more than $10.5 million in benefits.
More than 100,000 in Coastal Bend face food insecurity as SNAP benefits paused
SNAP Benefits in the Coastal Bend (September 2025)
- Nueces County: 60,305 individuals / $10,572,754 in benefits / Population: 352,289
- San Patricio County: 10,558 individuals / $1,727,828 in benefits / Population: 70,660
- Jim Wells County: 9,236 individuals / $1,518,974 in benefits / Population: 38,863
- Kleberg County: 5,643 individuals / $915,896 in benefits / Population: 30,629
- Aransas County: 3,277 individuals / $545,008 in benefits / Population: 24,449
- Duval County: 2,807 individuals / $458,097 in benefits / Population: 9,824
- Brooks County: 2,031 individuals / $338,395 in benefits / Population: 6,987
- Live Oak County: 1,332 individuals / $217,362 in benefits / Population: 11,444
- Bee County: 4,853 individuals / $804,332 in benefits / Population: 31,000
- Refugio County: 913 individuals / $135,337 in benefits / Population: 6,693
- Kenedy County: 31 individuals / $3,945 in benefits / Population: 52Source: Texas Health and Human Services Commission, September 2025
The federal government shut down Oct. 1 after lawmakers missed their deadline to fund federal agencies. With Democrats and Republicans locked in a stalemate over government funding and health insurance subsidies, the USDA notified states Oct. 10 to hold off distributing November benefits “until further notice.”…