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Dear Neighbor,
As the federal government shutdown reaches the one-month mark, there are real concerns about programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which helps keep children and families, the elderly, and many veterans fed.
The situation before us is very fluid, so I'm sharing with you what we know at this time. If funds are not released, this is how our community will be impacted.
Late last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it won't use its $6 billion contingency fund to support SNAP during the shutdown, nor will it reimburse states if they cover the costs themselves. This means that effective Saturday, November 1st, no new SNAP benefits will be distributed without federal action, impacting roughly 42 million low-income Americans, including 360,000 Connecticut residents.
Here in Stamford, 11,624 residents are faced with the challenge of not receiving SNAP Benefits starting November 1st.
Unused funds on EBT cards are accessible through November.
To be clear, these are our neighbors. These are people we know. People who will be struggling to find food and to feed their families.
On Monday, Governor Lamont announced at CT Foodshare that the state would provide $3 million in emergency funding to help residents who are expected to lose access to SNAP benefits during the shutdown. The emergency funding will support Connecticut Foodshare’s participating partners and programs to provide food assistance to families and individuals facing food insecurity.
While the governor acknowledged $3 million would not fill the entire gap left by the loss of federal funds, he noted it represents the state’s commitment to supporting others during this crisis.
The funding will help the nonprofit organization to buy additional food to distribute to agency partners and mobile pantries across the state over the next two weeks. With Foodshare's food-buying power, every dollar equals about 2 meals, equaling 6 million meals over the course of two weeks.
The governor, the CT Department of Social Services (DSS), which distributes the SNAP program, and other state agencies continue to monitor the impact of the shutdown and are exploring additional measures to support Connecticut residents.
CT DSS has reported that cash benefits like TFA and SAGA will still be issued normally.
For information on how to obtain food assistance from Connecticut Foodshare, as well as information on how to donate to this organization, visit www.ctfoodshare.org.
The United Way of Connecticut has published a list of resources to help here: https://uwc.211ct.org/resources-for-connecticut-residents-affected-by-the-government-shutdown/
You can find a pantry or mobile pantry at Connecticut Foodshare’s website here: https://www.ctfoodshare.org/find-food
Here are various links to resources on how residents can access food assistance and support organizations working to combat food insecurity in our community:
Below you can find a guide to accessing food in Stamford and a full list of food pantries in the area.
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