State Mobilizes $7 Million for Food Banks Amid Halt in Federal SNAP Payments

PITTSTON, Pa. (EYT) — Over $7 million in state and private funding has been mobilized to support Pennsylvania’s food banks as a federal government shutdown halts November SNAP payments for nearly two million residents, according to the Governor’s office.

Governor Josh Shapiro announced the funding and a disaster emergency declaration during a visit to the Weinberg Northeast Regional Food Bank in Luzerne County on Thursday, a release stated.

The move comes as the Trump Administration withholds Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, payments.

The state is making $5 million in Commonwealth funding immediately available to food banks. The Governor’s office also announced a private sector donation campaign has secured over $2 million for the new SNAP Emergency Relief Fund.

“Nearly two million Pennsylvanians rely on SNAP every month and they shouldn’t have to wonder where their next meal will come from because of dysfunction in Washington,” Shapiro said. “The federal government has the money to keep people fed, they’re just refusing to use it.”

The Governor’s office said Pennsylvania joined 24 other states in suing the Trump Administration for “unlawfully suspending SNAP payments.” A federal judge ruled the federal government must use contingency funds to partially cover November benefits.

The Trump Administration submitted a plan committing to partial funding but said it could take “weeks or months” to distribute, according to the release. The federal plan also requires a complex system overhaul.

Department of Human Services Secretary Val Arkoosh urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture to approve a simpler one-time payment approach to get food assistance out faster, the release stated.

The Weinberg Northeast Regional Food Bank will receive $288,992 from the state’s emergency funding. This is equivalent to about 337,000 meals for families in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Susquehanna, and Wyoming counties.

“We serve on the front lines and hear the pain people are living through every day,” said Crystal Kotlowski, COO of Volunteers of America of PA. “Without a strong SNAP safety net, it feels like a dam breaking.”

The funding dispute is part of a larger disagreement over federal reforms to the SNAP program.

In an August 26 letter to the governor, Congressman Glenn “G.T.” Thompson, Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, criticized Pennsylvania’s “severe mismanagement” of its SNAP program.

Thompson’s letter, which addressed reforms in federal law, cited Pennsylvania’s 11 percent payment error rate in 2024. He stated this resulted in over $450 million in incorrect payments, a combination of overpayments and underpayments.

The chairman also wrote that the new federal law reinforces work requirements. He stated Pennsylvania had previously waived these requirements for many able-bodied adults at a time when, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 292,000 open jobs in the state in June 2024.

Thompson, in his letter, accused the state administration of blaming insufficient federal funding in an “attempt to obfuscate a clear lack of program integrity.”

State officials encouraged residents who need help to call 211 or visit pa211.org.

Those wishing to donate or volunteer can find information at feedingpa.org.

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