Florida SNAP Benefits at Risk if Government Shutdown Continues

Nearly 3 million Floridians who rely on the federal food-aid program Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) face the possibility of not receiving their November benefits if the current federal government shutdown isn’t resolved in time.

The state agency responsible for administering SNAP in Florida, the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF), announced that while October benefits will be distributed as usual, benefits for November “will not be issued until federal funding is restored.”

SNAP is federally funded through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and because federal appropriations have lapsed, the money to load benefits onto recipients’ EBT cards is at stake.

State lawmakers are sounding alarms. U.S. Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost urged Florida’s governor and state legislature to convene a special session to fund the program at the state level in case federal funds remain unavailable. More than 2.8 million people in Florida could be affected, including seniors, children and individuals with disabilities.

Advocates warn that a delayed or missing benefit payments could strain food banks and other emergency services. DCF encouraged recipients to continue using any existing balances on their EBT cards and to apply or renew benefits as usual for now.

If the shutdown stretches past the end of October and no funding deal is reached, Florida SNAP recipients may not receive their November allotment until Congress restores funding. However, benefits already issued for previous months remain usable, and new applications and renewals are still being processed.