Millions of low-income Floridians who receive food stamp benefits through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), including veterans and the elderly, could see their benefits for November delayed if the U.S. government shutdown stretches into next month—and Florida Democrats are calling on Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to take action.
“Nearly 3 million Floridians who rely on SNAP benefits are at risk of going hungry on November 1, including 1.5 million children”, Florida Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried said in a statement.
“Governor DeSantis can stop this, especially as the holidays approach. For the price of shutting down Alligator Alcatraz, he can ensure that Florida families have food on the table this Thanksgiving,” she added, referring to an immigrant detention camp in the Everglades that has faced harsh rebuke and legal challenges from environmental groups and immigrant rights advocates.
Florida is one of at least 25 states across the United States that have warned of upcoming delays or missing payments to SNAP beneficiaries if Congress doesn’t agree on a federal budget, Politico reported.
“If the federal government shutdown continues into November, SNAP benefits for the month of November will not be issued until federal funding is restored,” the Florida Department of Children and Families, the state’s administration of the SNAP program, warns on its website.“You may receive notices about your eligible benefit amount, but you will not receive any benefits deposited to your EBT card during this time.”
Florida Rep. Anna Eskamani, a progressive Democrat from Orlando, said it’s “easily” within the power of DeSantis to take action. “If you are governor, you could easily call for a state of emergency on hunger, on food insecurity, and then allocate your emergency dollars like he’s been doing for immigration,” Dr. Eskamani told Orlando Weekly in a phone call. “It really just comes down to, you know, prioritization.”
Under Florida statutes, a state of emergency “must be declared by executive order or proclamation of the Governor if she or he finds an emergency has occurred or that the occurrence or the threat thereof is imminent.”
DeSantis most recently expanded a state of emergency order pertaining to hurricane preparedness to immigration in order to build the immigrant detention camp in the Florida Everglades, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
Eskamani said that DCF could also request emergency state funding from the Florida Legislature in order to fill the federal funding gap and, consequently, the bellies of low-income adults and families who benefit from the program.
“I would argue that with the type of money that Florida has already spent on immigration enforcement, we absolutely—if we wanted, if state government wanted to cover the gap—we absolutely could,” she said.
U.S. Congressman Maxwell Frost, D-FL, similarly penned a letter to Gov. DeSantis Thursday, as well as Florida House speaker Daniel Perez and Senate president Ben Albritton, urging them to call for a special legislative session to come up with legislation that would fund SNAP benefits for Florida families.
“I am calling on the Trump Administration to continue to provide Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits during the government shutdown. But our residents deserve a plan in the case that President Trump lacks the willingness to deliver,” Frost wrote.
“With the Republican Congress and Republican President sentencing the nearly 42 million Americans in need of SNAP to food insecurity, it is necessary that Florida’s state government does not second this indifference to the suffering and slow violence of that food insecurity,” he added.
‘A precarious position’
Florida DCF is the state administrator of SNAP, a welfare program funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that is meant to help low-income families afford food. Critics of welfare have disparaged the program as a costly “handout,” while welfare advocates have, on the flipside, argued that the benefits are insufficient, since they’ve failed to keep up with rising food costs.
The federal government shutdown began Oct.1 over disagreement between Republicans and Congress on a federal budget. Democrats are demanding Republicans agree to extend enhanced tax credits that have made health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace more affordable for millions of Americans, while Republicans have denied requests to negotiate until the government reopens.
Without the extension of the ACA subsidies, monthly healthcare premiums for Americans—those who don’t receive insurance through an employer or other government program—could more than double. Practically speaking, that could amount to hundreds, or even thousands of dollars more for health insurance per year, according to a KFF analysis.
Yet, if the government shutdown continues, the ability of more than 40 million Americans, including 2.8 million Floridians, to buy food through SNAP is also at risk. “We know supports like food stamps and housing subsidies help many low-wage working families to maintain housing stability,” said Martha Are, CEO of the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida, based out of Orlando.
“Families that are facing the loss of one or both of these benefits will absolutely be at greater risk of becoming homeless,” she said.
Qualifying households for SNAP include individuals and families earning up to 200% of the federal poverty level—equal to $31,300 for an individual or $64,300 for a family of four. In Florida, most SNAP recipients are also subject to stringent work requirements, with the exception of people with disabilities, students, and parents or guardians who care for young children.
“The folks that we serve are not just sitting home doing nothing,” said Thomas Mantz, CEO of Feeding Tampa Bay, an affiliate of the national hunger relief organization Feeding America. “They are also folks that are trying to make sure that they survive economically.”
Feeding Tampa Bay helps Floridians navigate the application process for SNAP benefits, including many working people on the lower end of the wage scale in the construction, hospitality, leisure, and entertainment industries. “When you think about SNAP recipients, you’re thinking about folks that are a large part of our community who are struggling to make ends meet.”
Formerly known as food stamps, SNAP can serve as a lifeline for low-income adults and families who can’t afford to buy groceries (remember the peak cost of eggs?) otherwise. The program’s delay in distributing benefits could force families into difficult spending decisions. Do I pay my rent this next month, or do I keep my child’s belly full?
Are, with the Homeless Services Network, said SNAP beneficiaries who are already homeless “will be left in the precarious position of trying to access food pantries and soup kitchens to avoid going hungry — time they could have spent looking for work or housing.”
Will the governor act?
The office of Gov. Ron DeSantis, when asked about the possibility of a state of emergency over the issue, told Orlando Weekly that staff had forwarded our questions to DCF. Florida DCF did not respond to our request for comment on whether they planned to request emergency state funding in time for publication.
The SNAP program works by delivering benefits electronically to recipients onto an EBT card. Florida DCF notes that there “are no anticipated impacts” to October benefits, so those should be coming as scheduled.
The department will also continue to process and accept new applications, even if the government shutdown — the second-longest in U.S. history so far — continues.
At least 750,000 of the federal government’s 2.1 million workers, meanwhile, have been furloughed without pay, as hundreds of thousands of others — save for a few Trump-favored exceptions — have been forced to continue working, also unpaid. In Central Florida, tens of thousands of federal workers are impacted.
“The Trump Administration wants every federal worker to be paid — that’s why we have repeatedly urged the Democrats to reopen the government and stop hurting the American people,” a White House spokesperson told the Washington Post, in response to criticism over Trump authorizing funding to pay some, but not all, federal employees during the shutdown.
“The Trump Administration is working day and night to mitigate the pain Democrats are causing — including by paying the troops and funding food assistance for women and children.”
Where to get help
Feeding Tampa Bay (which welcomes volunteers willing to dedicate their time to help) offers resources for people who need free food/groceries on their website and on social media.
Go to their website feedingtampabay.org, click on ‘Find Food,’ and scroll down to find free grocery distribution sites. You can put in your county of residence or your zip code to find the site closest to you or your family.
Feeding Tampa partners with 400-plus food pantries across 10 counties. Enter your city and state or zip code to find the pantry closest to you to find a hot meal and/or a box of groceries.
Today, St. Petersburg Free Clinic (SPFC) offered free, fresh groceries to Pinellas residents, who can also get free groceries on Nov. 20 and Dec. 18.
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