Effects of the Government Shutdown

The USDA has outlined the effects of the government shutdown on federal nutrition programs:

 

▪      SNAP will continue operations, and eligible households will receive monthly benefits for October.

▪      No additional federal funds will available to support WIC’s food benefits, clinical services, and administrative costs. States may have some funds available to continue operations for a week or so, and contingency funds will be available to help them as well. But even this funding would not fully offset the shortfall for the entire month of October.

▪      Child Nutrition Programs, including School Lunch, School Breakfast, Child and Adult Care Feeding, Summer Food Service, and Special Milk will continue operations into October.

▪      No additional federal funds would be available to support the Commodity Assistance Programs, including the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, The Emergency Food Assistance Program administrative funding, and the WIC Farmers’ Markets Nutrition Program.

 

In Connecticut, “SNAP benefits are expected to be intact through October; TANF (welfare) services are continuing at this point, although federal reimbursements jeopardized; and Medicaid claims and coverage are continuing through October at this point,” according to David Dearborn, spokesperson for the Department of Social Services.

 

Source: Food Research Action Council, 10/1/13, Shutdown Impact; Feeding America, 10/13, Shutdown II; CT Mirror, 10/9/13, CT Shutdown

 

Meals on Wheels may be hit harder by the shutdown than the USDA-funded programs discussed above. The more than 5,000 local programs were already struggling before the shutdown because of sequester cuts that went into effect earlier this year. Since then, 70% percent of programs have had to add to their waiting lists or create one for the first time, and 70% have had to reduce the number of meals they serve, according to Ellie Hollander, president and CEO of Meals on Wheels Association of America (MOWAA). One in six programs has shut its doors. Generally speaking, Hollander suspects that two weeks is about as long as some programs will be able to go with the resources they have.

 

Source: MOWAA, 10/7/13, Meals on Wheels