The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services announced a contingency plan Thursday that would partner the state with the New Hampshire Food Bank’s mobile food pantry program to help in-need families should the government shutdown prevent those families from receiving food assistance benefits.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is operated jointly by the federal and state governments to help low-income families pay for food. When Congress failed to pass a federal budget in September, the federal government ceased all nonessential operations, including SNAP. If Congress doesn’t act by Oct. 31, the federal government won’t distribute funding for SNAP benefits to states. Over 75,000 people in New Hampshire are enrolled in SNAP.
The plan, which is subject to approval by the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee and the Governor and Executive Council, will allow the food bank to open up to 20 locations twice a week for the next five weeks, just for SNAP recipients. DHHS officials told the Bulletin the plan will cost $2 million and be funded by the state’s Medicaid Enhancement Tax revenue.
“I want to thank our partners at the New Hampshire Food Bank for joining us in this effort to ensure vulnerable Granite Staters get the food they need in the event this shutdown continues,” Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a Republican, said in a statement announcing the plan. “Now, politicians in Washington must get their act together and reopen the federal government so critical programs like SNAP and WIC can continue without disruption.”
The government shutdown began after Senate Democrats refused to vote for any spending plan that didn’t include an extension of tax credits Americans use to purchase health coverage on HealthCare.gov. U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen told the Bulletin last week that “there are not any official negotiations going on” between Democrats and Republicans in Congress, only backdoor communications.
Republicans say they won’t discuss extending the tax credits until the government reopens. Democrats say they won’t vote to reopen the government until Republicans vote with them to extend the tax credits. If the tax credits aren’t extended, many Americans using HealthCare.gov will see large increases in their health care premiums.
SNAP recipients aren’t the only ones feeling the effects of the shutdown. Hundreds of thousands of federal employees have been furloughed while many essential workers are working without pay. Also, national parks are closed, and federally funded research projects are facing potential delays.