Media Coverage

The longest federal government shutdown in US history is over. But there’s uncertainty about how long before life will be back to normal for the 1.4 million Ohioans in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program who lost food stamp benefits during it.

SNAP recipients will get their benefits for November, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. ODJFS said this week the state processed partial payments for eligible households. That will now be deducted from the full amount households are set to get for November and then benefits will be transferred to electronic benefit transfer or EBT cards.

"In normal times it takes several days or even weeks for file transfers to move from the state to a third party vendor who then transmits data to the federal government who then basically takes steps to approve issuance of benefits," said Joree Novotny, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks. "So to restart full issuance of benefits seemingly also takes some time. We don't know with certainty how much longer it will take."

ODJFS isn’t giving a timeline or a date.

While Americans receiving SNAP benefits may have breathed a sigh of relief with the passage Wednesday of legislation to end the longest government shutdown in American history, the true relief may take some time to make its way down to those in need.

With that in mind, the Lima Black Ministerial Alliance made a contribution to the city’s Stronger Together Fund to help the West Ohio Food Bank meet an increasing need for food donations.

The alliance’s $5,500 donation comes at a critical time, according to Lima Mayor Sharetta Smith and West Ohio Food Bank CEO Tommie Harner.

One thing the federal shutdown illustrated is how close untold numbers of people in our community are to going hungry.

As food stamps and paychecks stopped flowing for many residents, food pantries became overwhelmed. Foodbank Inc. used $500,000 in extra funding from Montgomery County commissioners to buy seven semi-trucks of food to stock shelves.

Many food pantries in Ohio are seeing record demand as President Donald Trump has resisted court orders to provide food aid to 42 million Americans.

The outlines of an agreement to end the longest government shutdown in history emerged Sunday night. But it’s unclear how quickly the administration will work to distribute food benefits or in what amounts.

A federal judge ruled that despite the shutdown, Trump must disburse funds that are available for the purpose. But so far he has refused.

The matter is before the appellate courts, and the Department of Agriculture on Saturday ordered some states to undo their work to disburse food funds on their own.

On Monday afternoon, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services issued guidance saying that full benefits are unlikely to be provided this month.

“Under the revised federal calculations, nearly all recipients will receive less than 65% of their normal benefit,” it said.

As demand for food assistance continues to rise across her community, Stephanie Sweany, executive director of the Stark County Hunger Task Force, said the situation feels all too familiar.

“I was here through COVID. And I would kind of compare the need and sort of the desperation that people are feeling, and the uncertainty that people are feeling, to COVID,” she said.

Sweany has watched as the federal government shutdown led to the suspension of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits this month, putting greater pressure on food banks already stretched thin by earlier federal cuts. As the matter pinballed through the courts, the standoff between the federal government and the states over SNAP deepened, even as a deal to fund the government appeared close.

On Nov. 9, the Trump administration ordered states to “immediately undo” any “unauthorized” SNAP payments for the month. At the same time, progress toward ending the shutdown emerged when eight Democratic senators joined Republicans in backing a plan to break the weeks-long deadlock. The proposal would reopen the government, restore funding for SNAP and other programs and guarantee back pay for furloughed workers, but it leaves out the expiring health care subsidies Democrats have been fighting to preserve as millions face rising insurance costs.

In the meantime, state officials across the country are scrambling to feed their residents, and local food banks are bracing for another surge in need.

hared Harvest Food Bank, which serves five regional counties, will receive $1.43 million from the state of Ohio amid the suspension of SNAP benefits.

But not all of those funds will be spent in the foodbank’s five-county region.

Due to the federal government shutdown, benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, were suspended for the month of November causing food banks and food pantries to wonder how to keep their shelves filled.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine reaffirmed a plan on Thursday that he announced last month to provide up to $25 million in support of food assistance to families affected by the suspension of SNAP benefits.

The first part of the plan was directing the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to provide $7 million to regional food banks across Ohio. Shared Harvest Foodbank will receive $1.43 million, according to the governor’s office.

Shared Harvest Executive Director Terry Purdue said the foodbank “holds a contract for not just our food bank but four other food banks in Ohio covering a total of 31 counties.”