CONCORD, NH – New Hampshire’s emergency SNAP food pantries and box pickups will continue for another week, after the federal government announced late Friday that full November benefits from the program will be funded.
Benefits are expected to be on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP] EBT cards this weekend, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services said Friday afternoon. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday that the program will be fully funded as the federal government appeals an order by a Rhode Island judge that the government pay full SNAP benefits for November.
SNAP-only food pantries set up by DHHS and the New Hampshire Food Bank earlier this week to help those who receive benefits put food on the table will continue through Friday, Nov. 14, DHHS said. A list of pantries and food box pickups for SNAP beneficiaries can be found on the DHHS website.
The state has also received federal funding to sustain the Women, Infants and Children program through at least the end of November as the federal government shutdown continues, DHHS said.
It is the first time in the 61-year history of the SNAP program, which began as Food Stamps, that it has been interrupted. The USDA oversees the program, and states administer it.
While the numbers change monthly, New Hampshire gets about $12.6 million a month to cover benefits for about 75,000 residents. The average monthly benefit in the state per individual is $169.52. Nationally, about 42 million receive the monthly benefit, which costs about $8 billion a month in federal money.
Last week, DHHS and the New Hampshire Food Bank agreed to a contract to use $2 million in Medicaid Enhancement Funds revenue to set up food pantries and box pickups exclusively for SNAP recipients in the state. The contract, approved by the Executive Council, stipulates that if full funding for the program is approved, the rescue plan is terminated.
“Our state teams have worked tirelessly to ensure that people across New Hampshire receive their SNAP benefits as quickly as possible,” DHHS Commissioner Lori Weaver said Friday in a news release. “I am grateful for the support of our many community partners who have assisted SNAP recipients over the past several weeks. Everyone deserves the peace of mind that comes with having enough to eat, and we will continue to help families access the food assistance they need to support their health and well-being.”
DHHS said that applications for SNAP will continue to be processed during the federal government shutdown. The USDA last month ordered states to continue processing applications.
Friday morning, the Justice Department asked for an emergency pause on Thursday’s order by U.S. District Court Judge John McConnell that USDA deliver full payments to states by Friday.
“Without SNAP funding for the month of November, 16 million children are immediately at risk of going hungry,” McConnell said. “This should never happen in America.”
Friday afternoon, the federal government reversed course, partially, and said it will fund SNAP in November as the appeal goes through the court system.
The federal government earlier in the week said it would partially fund the program, but how that would be achieved wasn’t clear. The government claims that a $4.6 billion contingency fund set up to cover SNAP benefits when funding isn’t available isn’t enough to fully fund a month’s worth of benefits, and no other money exists to fund it since there is no budget, with the federal shutdown. The fund was originally $6 billion as established by Congress, but has shrunk the past two weeks.
“This crisis shows how important SNAP benefits are to people in New Hampshire,” Laura Milliken, of NH Hunger Solutions, said in a news release Friday. “To help our lawmakers not forget this, we need your help.”
The organization asked that those who use SNAP for food, health care providers, teachers or other caregivers worried about those they care for “or a food pantry who has been overwhelmed by the current crisis,” to contact the organization to tell their story.
The New Hampshire Food Bank also asked for enhanced donations in the face of the crisis. The Food Bank, which works with more than 400 partner organizations across the state to supply food to those who need it, had already increased food distribution by 26% year-over-year before SNAP benefits were interrupted this month. The food bank is hoping that more New Hampshire residents go to its website to donate, given the growing need.
The Food Bank’s regular mobile food pantries and ongoing support to people who need assistance with food continues as well, the DHHS news release said.
Resources are available for people who need assistance from the remaining SNAP-only food pantries and have mobility concerns or do not have transportation, including 2-1-1, Keep New Hampshire Moving, New Hampshire’s Aging and Disability Resource Centers, local Family Resource Centers, Area Agencies, and Community Action Programs.