Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs is deploying $1.8 million to support food banks across the state bracing for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to stop on Nov. 1.
Because of the ongoing federal government shutdown, SNAP will be suspended starting this weekend. Ahead of the drop-off, food banks are already seeing a significant increase in demand.
Hobbs is utilizing pandemic recovery funding to bolster food banks, which are expected to fill the gap for nearly 900,000 Arizonans. Still, the state receives about $156 million a month in SNAP funding, making Hobbs’ one-time allocation of under $2 million relatively small.
“It is appalling that the Trump administration is choosing to withhold food from vulnerable Arizona families, using them as leverage in their political games,” Hobbs said. “The state of Arizona does not have the money to backfill the disastrous decisions being made by Washington Republicans, but I am taking every action possible to mitigate the damage done to everyday people in our state.”
She also called on retailers and grocers and the fresh produce industry to please help contribute food and resources.
Hobbs' announcement of the $1.8 million in grants comes less than a week after she brushed aside a question about why she was not using COVID-19 relief dollars to deal with the loss of SNAP benefits.
"The COVID money is very much exhausted,'' she said at the time.
Hobbs’ spokesperson Christian Slater said the new release of funds to food banks doesn’t rule out other potential actions the state can take to mitigate the cuts.
Arizona Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes joined 21 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Tuesday attempting to force the administration to continue funding SNAP.
The attorneys general argue that the U.S. Department of Agriculture can and should tap into other funding sources to fund SNAP.
The USDA has a large contingency fund but argues that money can only be spent on natural disasters. That’s different from a shutdown plan the agency quietly deleted that originally said it would use the fund to continue SNAP benefits.
The USDA webpage now shows a message blaming Democrats for the government shutdown.
Mayes also called on Hobbs and the state legislature to go into a special session to approve the release of funding from the state’s “rainy day fund” to backfill the cuts.
Hobbs is granting $1.5 million to various food banks and $300,000 to a program called Food Bucks Now.
Food Bucks Now gives $30 vouchers to SNAP households which can be redeemed at certain grocery stores and farmers markets.
Howard Fischer of Capitol Media Services contributed to this article.
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