Marion County may spend $200,000 in emergency food aid as SNAP benefits lapse amid a federal shutdown, impacting thousands of food-insecure residents.
Salem, OR. — With SNAP benefits set to expire November 1, 2025, due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, the Marion County Board of Commissioners held an emergency meeting Thursday evening to discuss local support options for food-insecure residents.
“The federal government is not functioning, and I am not okay with allowing that to trickle down into our community leaving so many individuals and families without resources for the vital nutrition they need to survive,” said Commissioner Danielle Bethell, Board Chair.
While the County’s WIC supplemental nutrition program for mothers, infants, and children remains funded through November, commissioners debated strategies to offset the sudden loss of federal SNAP funding…