Food banks in Arizona are bracing for a surge in demand as SNAP benefits are set to run out Saturday for nearly 900,000 people in the state. Gov. Katie Hobbs visited a Phoenix food bank Thursday and criticized President Donald Trump for the funding freeze.
After helping load food boxes into a few cars alongside volunteers at St. Mary’s Food Bank in Phoenix, Hobbs told reporters she is looking at all options to mitigate the situation.
Hobbs on Wednesday announced Arizona would use $1.8 million in federal pandemic relief funds to help food banks meet increasing demand. But she said that will not make up for the $155 million that SNAP brings into the state each month.
“We allocated $1.8 million to provide emergency assistance — I know it’s not enough,” Hobbs said. “We’re asking Arizonans to show up for their community like they always do — I know that’s not enough. The president could end this right now.”
The Trump administration is blaming Democrats for the disruption to SNAP benefits as the federal government shutdown drags on.
“Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats,” a message posted on the U.S. Department of Agriculture website says.
But Hobbs said Trump could release more than $5 billion from a USDA contingency fund to keep the food stamps program running during the shutdown.
“There’s never been a government shutdown where the president has said, ‘no we’re not going to feed hungry people who rely on this funding to not go hungry,'” Hobbs said. “This is his choice.”
The USDA argues its contingency fund cannot legally be tapped in this situation.
Arizona is among more than 20 states suing the Trump administration over the SNAP freeze. Hobbs said she is hopeful that the lawsuit will resolve the issue.
-
In November, HUD announced deep cuts to permanent housing programs for people experiencing homelessness. They wanted to shift the money to transitional programs with work or service requirements. -
Judge Patti Saris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts vacated Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order blocking wind energy projects and declared it unlawful. -
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs says she won’t give in to the Trump administration’s threat to withhold SNAP funding unless states hand over data about the program’s recipients. -
Kyle Wilkerson, program coordinator for air traffic control at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, joined The Show to talk more about how the shutdown affected Arizona controllers. -
The Trump administration is threatening to withhold SNAP funding from more than 20 states, including Arizona, that have refused to share data about residents who benefit from the food assistance program, citing privacy and concerns with how the federal government will use that information.
