Ever since before the federal government shutdown began, West Alabama Democrat Congresswoman Terri Sewell has been actively posting social media messages about its impact.
Until midnight Friday that impact was mainly felt by federal employees and many federal services. At the bewitching hour of Halloween night, the shutdown became scary, impacting more than 750,000 Alabamians and more than 20,000 West Alabama residents. That is when Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits ended. SNAP helps low-income working people, senior citizens, the disabled and others feed their families.
As part of her offensive to end the shutdown and restore SNAP benefits, Rep. Sewell is hosting a roundtable on food insecurity and the SNAP crisis. That meeting is set for 11:00am Monday morning at the West Alabama Food Bank (401 65th Street
in Tuscaloosa).
The loss of SNAP benefits has put pressure on local community support organizations, like food banks, Salvation Army, Red Cross and others. Leaders point out the result could be a public health crisis similar to that of the pandemic if benefits are not quickly restored.
A federal judge in Rhode Island on Friday ordered the White House to use contingency funds to pay for those benefits, something Rep. Sewell recommended last week. In a separate decision, a judge in Massachusetts told the administration it has until “no later than Monday” to come up with a way to use emergency funds to pay for benefits.
President Trump said Friday that he has directed government lawyers to find a way to pay for SNAP. But it may take several days to get the funds to the states which oversee SNAP distribution.
While several states have committed to at least partially funding SNAP, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has refused Democrat requests to call a special legislative session to deal with the issue.
In a press release last week Sewell wrote, “Nearly a quarter of households in my district rely on SNAP to feed their families,” said Rep. Sewell. “For so many, SNAP means the difference between a hot meal and going to bed hungry. The fact that President Trump and Congressional Republicans would rather take food away from hungry families than work with Democrats to end this shutdown is shameful but not surprising. These are the same people responsible for making the largest cut to SNAP in American history less than four months ago.”
Republicans point blame back at Democrats who they credit for the shutdown to begin with.
According to Sewell’s office, at the conclusion of the roundtable Monday she will join food bank volunteers in packing for families in need.
Dining and Cooking