Republican Shutdown Threatens SNAP Benefits

Last week, the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services announced that they and all other states have been instructed by the Food and Nutrition Service not to issue November benefits to SNAP recipients. 

According to the Iowa HHS website Iowa SNAP currently serves approximately 131,000 households per month. Thousands of Iowans, who are already struggling to make ends meet due to tariffs and devastating cuts made by their Republican representatives, will have to find another way to feed their families without this support.

The shutdown is a direct result of Republican votes to extend tax breaks for billionaires, while allowing tax credits that  keep healthcare costs affordable expire.Reps. Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks are playing key roles in the ongoing stalemate. Nearly a month into the shutdown, Nunn and Miller-Meeks have signaled zero support for an extension of health tax credits to lower costs and reopen the government. Their inaction puts not only SNAP at risk, but WIC support, Medicaid and Medicare services, and paychecks for federal workers that support everything from Iowa economic data to conservation and harvest, along with critical health and hunger programs.

Executive Director of the Supply Hive, Zakariyah Hill, says that the demand on food banks and pantries is already high due to tariffs and inflation, and in rural areas, they may not be able to keep up. 

“Thankfully in recent years the food bank systems have been able to keep up in metro areas, but there’s no telling how much more strain these systems can take,” Hill said. “Rural systems are often already not able to do enough for their communities, they don’t stand a chance if SNAP doesn’t come through. Our representatives need to do their jobs, reopen the government, and start lowering costs like they promised.”