WALLER COUNTY, Texas – Thousands of Texas families could soon lose access to the food assistance they depend on. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the federal agency that funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), says there is not enough money to pay for full November benefits if the government shutdown continues past the end of October.
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Across the Houston area, more than 900,000 people rely on SNAP benefits to help buy groceries. For roughly 70,000 families in rural areas, that loss could be devastating — pushing many to already strained food pantries like Helping Hands in Waller County.
Food pantries already feeling the strain
At Helping Hands, volunteers say the challenges started months ago.
“One of the first effects we’ve felt, which was about six months ago, the (Houston) Food Bank cut out a thing called a ‘mobile pantry’ that we get,” said Tim Chipman, who runs Helping Hands in Waller County. “That is about 10,000 pounds of produce a month that we were giving out to the public. That is gone.”
Chipman says the organization has already seen significant losses in food supply…