On October 1, the US Government entered a “shutdown” state. This affected families for many reasons, but especially due to the pause of benefits, like SNAP.
SNAP benefits, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, provide electronic benefits on an EBT card to help low-income individuals and families purchase food. To be eligible for SNAP, your household’s gross monthly income (the total monthly countable earned and unearned income) must be at or below 130% of the federal poverty guidelines. (For a family of four, the guideline is $32,150, with an additional $5,500 for each extra person in the household.)
According to statenews.org, “Approximately 1.4 million Ohioans receive a total of $264 million in food benefits from SNAP each month. The average monthly SNAP benefit per person is about $190. Funds for SNAP will be cut off at midnight tomorrow if the federal shutdown isn’t resolved before then.”
According to Ohio’s Data Bureau, Madison County has a total of 4,482 SNAP recipients totaling $801,850 in regular allotment. Within Union County, there are 3,729 receiving households with over $550,804 in regular allotment. Madison’s population percent of SNAP-receiving households is 10.22% compared to Union’s 5%, with a total of 15.22% and $1,352,654 in allotment regularly that was paused for community residents.
With the cutting of ~1,352,654 within the community, food pantries were strained to their limits due to the high demand. According to the Ohio Capital Journal, “One [Ohio food pantry] said strained resources might not last and made an appeal for donations.”
A shutdown happened due to there being start of a new fiscal (government financial) year without the budget being passed by the Senate and signed by the President into law. The shutdown was resolved on November 12, with an agreement to fund certain programs through what’s known as a continuing resolution that reopens the government and ensures federal programs (like SNAP) are fully funded through Sept. 30, 2026.
This means that, if the Senate/House were to fail to pass the budget in time in January of 2026, it is possible that a government shutdown could happen again, but the SNAP benefits would not be in jeopardy.
The shutdown affected families throughout the nation, not just because of benefits for those in need, but also affected small businesses and wages for government workers.
According to a document released by the White House, “Small Business Administration loan distributions are also frozen during the government shutdown. Assuming equal, average distributions each month, small businesses would face delays of around $100 million in Ohio under a month-long shutdown of the federal government. Combining this with federal employees going unpaid, consumer spending from lost wages will fall by an estimated $806 million in Ohio each month the government shutdown extends.”
The 43-day shutdown was the longest in US history, and the impacts are still playing out over time.
