The partial federal government shutdown is putting thousands of Vermonters at risk of hunger, in particular those who receive 3SquaresVT - known nationally as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
With the end of the shutdown still uncertain, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), one of the federal agencies affected by the shutdown, has authorized states to issue benefits early for the month of February.
According to a news release, the Economic Services Division of the Vermont Department for Children and Families (DCF) will be issuing 3SquaresVT February benefits to recipients on Sunday, Jan. 20.
Recipients are asked to budget and plan accordingly with this advance payment.
“DCF is committed to working with our federal and community partners to ensure 3SquaresVT recipients and new applicants get their February benefits,” said DCF Commissioner Ken Schatz.
According to Hunger Free Vermont, a statewide nonprofit focused on food insecurity in the state, the government shutdown is already having an impact on food security in Vermont and across the country, with reports of emergency food shelves opening to serve federal employees who have not been paid for weeks.
Anore Horton, executive director of Hunger Free Vermont, said the shutdown “is hurting families and putting millions of people's health and well-being at risk. That is unacceptable, and it is time to end it.”
She added that the shutdown “reveals the truth about food insecurity - that almost any family in Vermont is just one unexpected event away from finding themselves in the incredibly stressful situation of being forced to choose between paying for heat and paying for food during the coldest months of the year.”
3SquaresVT benefits are often the only money that participants have to pay for food, and many run out of their benefits in the last two weeks of the month and have to turn to food shelves.
As a result, local food shelves may experience additional pressure in February if Vermonters run out of 3SquaresVT benefits earlier than usual.
Right now, DCF says it is focused on ensuring that Vermonters receive their February benefits. However, if the shutdown continues, the federal government will not have enough funds to issue SNAP benefits in March and beyond.
DCF and the Vermont Legislature have also begun investigating what the state government can do to support 3SquaresVT participants should the federal shutdown continue into March.