PITTSBURGH — SNAP payments will be partially funded through the month of November, according to the Trump Administration. The decision, which was announced Monday afternoon, means that the hundreds of thousands of SNAP recipients across Western Pennsylvania will get about half of their usual payment for the month. The USDA is using emergency funds to cover the cost, as the government shutdown reaches Day 34.
Leaders from Pittsburgh area nonprofits said it’s a step in the right direction but will not meet local need and are calling on community members to continue to help, as a surge in demand continues.
“Half their benefits – while helpful – is not going to solve the problem,” said Bobbi Watt Geer, president/CEO of United Way of southwestern Pennsylvania.
The news broke during a collaborative community conversation hosted by Allegheny County, and key players reacted to the update in real time, as they talked about the local impacts of delayed SNAP benefits and how people could get help. For the last few weeks, the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank has been scrambling to help twice as many families as usual.
“We’ve always viewed food assistance as a public-private partnership. The government can’t do it alone, we can’t do it alone. It really takes all of us working together,” said Lisa Scales, president/CEO of Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. “It’s not enough.”
Before this announcement, Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis visited the food bank, which will receive just over $800,000 from the $5 million in state funding that Governor Josh Shapiro released Friday. Feeding Pennsylvania will distribute the money to its network of food banks.
“I do not believe that food should be used as a bargaining chip. We believe food is a human right,” Davis said. “What we are doing is harm reduction; we cannot replace the role of the federal government as it relates to snap benefits. We have a contingency fund at the federal government for a reason.”
It will take state governments some time to figure out how – and how soon – partial payments will be made. Allegheny County officials said back benefits will be issued once payments restart.
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