With Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits expected to run out this weekend, Summit County officials are warning that people will go hungry if the government shutdown continues.
The federal government has been shutdown since Oct. 1, after Democratic and Republican lawmakers could not agree on a budget bill. SNAP benefits, which provide monthly funds to low income households for groceries, were funded through October but will run out Nov. 1 if the government is not reopened.
"The magnitude of this moment cannot be understated," Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro said. "This is an untenable situation."
Summit County Council approved an additional quarter million dollars Monday night to go to the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank. That will fund 750,000 meals, Shapiro said.
“Despite our financial assistance, this money will not go very far," she said.
More than 77 thousand people or 13 percent of Summit County residents are on SNAP, Greta Johnson with the Executive's Office said. In Akron, one in four residents use SNAP.
"It's also very important to note that statewide 79% of households that receive SNAP benefits have at least one working adult in them," she said.
SNAP running out of funds will also have economic repercussions, Johnson said.
"These SNAP benefits total $15.5 million that will not be going into our local economy this month," she said. "$15.5 million will not go to local farmers markets, locally owned grocery stores, and all of the ancillary businesses that support these businesses will be deeply impacted."
Rep. Emilia Sykes, whose district includes all of Summit County, said Republicans need to come back to the bargaining table.
“Finger pointing does not feed children," she said.
There's no end in sight as Congress is at a "complete stalemate," Sykes said.
"We have seen the president be very heavy-handed with Congress and sort of what he says goes, and he's in Asia right now," she said. "And he's not thinking about what's going on in the United States, and for that reason, we are at a standstill."
She’s calling on the Trump administration to release contingency funds to pay for SNAP benefits.
"We know that there are funds available. Congress made funds available," Sykes said. "At this point, the administration is choosing not to feed our families."
Sykes has introduced the Feed Our Families Act, which would appropriate funds to carry out SNAP during the first 90 day lapse in funding. It does not have bipartisan support and has not been given a hearing.
"It's not fair. It's mean," she said. "And it's cruel to use food as a political mechanism."
SNAP recipients can call 211 for food assistance, Johnson said.
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children is not set to run out of funding Nov. 1, Johnson said.
"As they've been explained to us is that WIC will be in place through the end of November," she said.
