The 1.4 million Ohioans in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, will see their food benefits end if the federal shutdown drags on through November. People who work with those low-income Ohioans are growing concerned about the potential impact.
"We have been notified by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services that SNAP benefits for food will no longer be loaded on cards starting Nov. 1," said Jon Honeck, executive director of the Ohio Association of Job and Family Services Directors, who run the local JFS offices in the state's 88 counties.
Almost 12% of Ohio's population receives SNAP benefits. In 2023, nearly one in five Ohio households with kids participated in SNAP, and almost 44% of households led by a single female parent. Honeck said Ohio is a staggered issue state, meaning different SNAP recipients get benefits at varying times throughout the month.
"So it's not like it will affect the whole SNAP recipient population right away," Honeck said. "But if the shutdown continues for a period of weeks, it will eventually start to cause significant hardships for those individuals and those families that are receiving SNAP benefits."
The state said people will still be able to access existing benefits after Oct. 31 but no new benefits will be added until the shutdown ends. Honeck said a prolonged shutdown will have a wide reach, as SNAP pumped about $3.2 billion into Ohio's economy last year.
"That is a significant amount of purchasing power for Ohio grocery stores and other retailers. That could have a significant impact on those merchants that take SNAP and employment potentially at those locations," Honeck said. "And if folks are spending their money on other items and they have to shift their spending to food as a basic necessity because they have to do it, other types of merchants may see an indirect impact as well."
Food banks have stressed they’re open but will struggle to meet long-term needs.
The Ohio Association of Foodbanks estimates people over 60 make up a quarter of all food pantry visitors in Ohio.
