Why Should Delaware Care?
Gov. Matt Meyer will use millions of dollars in state funds to stave off the loss of federal food benefits for another month, potentially preventing 110,000 Delawareans from going hungry as soon as Saturday. The federal government, however, will not reimburse any state dollars used to save SNAP.
Gov. Matt Meyer declared a state of emergency Wednesday to use millions of state dollars to fund national food benefits on a week-by-week basis in an attempt to prevent more than 110,000 Delawareans from going hungry this weekend amid the continued federal government shutdown.
Starting next week, Delaware will begin paying for more than $5 million of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) assistance every week until the government reopens. The emergency response was spurred by the impending lapse of the national food benefits, should the federal shutdown continue beyond Saturday, Nov. 1.
Without state action, Delaware would be barred from issuing more than $20 million in federal food benefits to about 60,000 households.
Each month, the federal government gives states money for SNAP, an anti-hunger initiative that helps roughly 42 million low-income Americans buy groceries. Amid the ongoing shutdown, however, the government is not doling out the money to states beginning next month, unless Congress reaches a deal to fund the government.
The funding lapse threatens the food security of 11% of Delaware’s population. Seniors, families with children and people with disabilities all depend on the program to put food on the table every month.
“Delaware families cannot eat political promises,” Meyer said.
Meyer projected that Delaware can fund SNAP on a weekly basis with the emergency declaration through the end of November, if necessary. The federal government, however, will not reimburse Delaware for any money they spend on SNAP, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the SNAP program.
USDA said that states will not be reimbursed if they cover SNAP benefits on their own and that the agency cannot use contingency funds to pay for the food benefits either, according to a USDA memo first obtained by Axios.
Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings on Tuesday sued the USDA for its suspension of SNAP and argued that the state’s food banks will be “overwhelmed,” with thousands of Delawareans going hungry amid the disruption. Jennings joined a coalition of 25 other states suing the Trump administration, demanding that SNAP funding be restored immediately.
That same day, both Republican and Democratic legislative leaders called on Meyer to authorize state funding so that SNAP benefits for Delaware residents go uninterrupted. Republican leaders even called for a special session of the General Assembly to discuss potential solutions if no immediate state funds are available.
“Delaware has both the resources and the responsibility to ensure no family in our state goes hungry because of a political stalemate in Washington,” said Republican legislative leaders in their written request to Meyer.
SNAP cuts may cause local ramifications
Across North Walnut Street, just hundreds of yards from where Meyer declared a state of emergency on Wednesday, Tony Lee stood surrounded by shelves replete with groceries at Wilmington’s Brown Bag Deli and Grocery. Handwritten signs were taped to the fresh fruit refrigerator, announcing that SNAP funds could be used to buy them.
Lee’s corner store gets one-third of its business from SNAP recipients buying their groceries. He underscored that everyone in the city is going to be affected: families, individuals and business owners who rely heavily on SNAP revenue.
“What makes it worse is that the kids are going to be most affected,” Lee said.
In fiscal year 2024, more than 66% of SNAP recipients in Delaware were families with children, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan thinktank based in Washington, D.C. More than 36% of recipients were in families with older adults or people living with disabilities.
In Dover, the Do Care Doula Foundation food pantry has seen a more than 50% increase in the number of families seeking assistance in the past couple weeks, said Erica Allen, executive director and founder of the organization.
The foundation runs a family resource center that offers families free food, diapers, menstrual supplies and hygiene products. The group normally serves 50 families but helped 83 last week, with the number only expected to increase in the coming weeks.
There’s also been an increase in the number of military members who have utilized the pantry, given that the shutdown has forced them – until a recent Trump executive order – to work without pay, the resource center’s Manager Rosi Ramos said.
“This is squeezing people to their limits,” Ramos said.
The resource center is already fighting to keep its doors open with the recent changes in federal funding. With more and more people seeking help, it may push the 1,400-square-foot center to its limits.
“The potential for not having the availability of what we need is scary,” Allen said.
During the emergency declaration Tuesday, Meyer also announced that his office will provide more assistance to food pantries across the state.
On Tuesday, the Food Bank of Delaware held a call with its more than 200 food pantry partners across the state to discuss preparations in case SNAP benefits lapse. The food bank expects that demand could double, but is trying to prepare for any scenario, said Kim Turner, vice president of communications and chief of staff with the organization.
The food bank and its partners have never been in an environment where SNAP benefits were not available to the community, Turner said. If the food bank were to see an increase in demand of 100% with the food inventory it currently has, then it would only be sustainable through December.
“It’s uncharted territory,” Turner said.
SNAP benefits are expected to continue for Delawareans through November. If the government shutdown persists past then, however, thousands of residents will once again be in jeopardy of losing access to groceries and food.
Get Involved
During his press conference, Meyer called for residents to donate to the Food Bank of Delaware, or other community organizations providing food assistance. Learn more about donation options to the Food Bank of Delaware here.
