With the government shutdown achieving a historic milestone at 36 days in–surpassing all those that preceded it in duration–funding of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits appears unstable for the month of November.

Late last month, following the Trump administration’s decision to let funding for SNAP benefits lapse beginning November 1, a federal judge in Rhode Island on October 31 ordered the Trump administration to use billions of dollars in contingency funds to keep program benefits flowing, at least partially.  On November 5, a White House spokesperson said administration will comply with the order, according to news reports.

SNAP provides an average of $189 in monthly assistance for groceries to 42 million people across the country, including approximately 4.8 million adults aged 60 or older who have low incomes. The monthly amount comes out to just over $6 per day on average and is credited with creating food security for families with children, veterans, and older adult households. Since its inception, the program’s benefits have never lapsed.

Federal, State, and Local Responses to the Food Security Crisis

A group of Democrat state governors and attorneys general have challenged the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) decision not to use contingency funds to cover most of the benefits shortfall for the month of November, and the U.S. District Judge in the case  signaled an impending order requiring the federal government to use contingency funds to at least partially cover the shortfall. An additional lawsuit has been filed on behalf of non-profits and municipalities representing SNAP beneficiaries, as well as a labor union and businesses that rely on SNAP purchases by customers.

On the Hill, more than 200 democratic lawmakers on October 24 sent a letter to USDA urging the use of the contingency funds, which the federal government argued are reserved for disasters and other events that only partially impact the distribution of benefits, rather than as a replacement funding source.

Various pieces of bipartisan legislation have been introduced to pay for SNAP benefits while the broader government shutdown continues, but the efforts have so far been stymied by republican leadership on the Hill who want to maintain pressure on democrats to reopen the government in its entirety. On Thursday, October 30, lawmakers in DC were sent home for the weekend without a SNAP fix, despite the November 1 cliff for SNAP benefits lapsing.

While a legislative path to addressing the SNAP benefits lapse is currently uncertain, several states and municipalities are searching for alternate solutions. Some states have reported that they will continue providing SNAP benefits using state funds despite an announcement by the federal government that states will not be reimbursed once the federal funding restarts.

Locally, certain areas are scrambling for temporary solutions: in San Francisco, for instance, emergency gift cards sent to SNAP beneficiaries.  Some states have engaged state National Guard and state volunteer deployments to aid in food distribution at food banks, and several areas have declared states of emergency to unlock additional funding and support through food banks.

However, following cuts to grants and disruptions in funding sources throughout the year, food banks have reported being unprepared to meet food needs both of furloughed federal workers across the country and of SNAP beneficiaries with lapsed benefits.

Impact on Older Adults and Aging Services Providers

LeadingAge is deeply concerned with the food security of older adults and urges leaders on the Hill to work together to find a solution for SNAP. In the meantime, LeadingAge members across the aging services continuum have expressed deep distress about the communities they serve.

Affordable Housing Many affordable senior housing communities serve residents on fixed incomes who rely on SNAP to cover food purchases each month. Those purchases are made at regular stores in the broader community or, at times, at convenience markets located on site at housing properties assisted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In addition, some HUD-assisted affordable housing providers offer meal programs on site that rely on resident payments using SNAP benefits.

LeadingAge members operating meal programs and stores report that they are looking for ways to waive resident costs for meals and purchases during the month of November, but they need financial support to do so. One LeadingAge member in Massachusetts reported that the community’s meal program costs $50,000 each month to operate to provide meals for more than 200 residents who pay using SNAP benefits, while another member reported a $10,000 per month operating cost for her meal program. These kinds of extra funds are not available for the vast majority of HUD-assisted housing providers, who operate on razor-thin budgets determined by the federal agency.

LeadingAge has successfully lobbied HUD to allow flexibilities for housing providers to temporarily cover the cost of meal program operations using both Residual Receipts – rare funds that are not spent at the end of the community’s fiscal year and that are recouped by HUD, but are generally not available at most communities–and Reserve for Replacement accounts–funds specifically earmarked for critical capital repairs at the property, like heating and cooling systems and roof repairs, that would need to be repaid. The agency is in direct communication with housing providers operating meal programs to make them aware of the flexibilities, and members can also reach out to LeadingAge for additional clarity.

Home Health and Hospice Providers Food insecurity has been connected to greater risk of hospitalization, including for older adults receiving health care and hospice services at home. LeadingAge recommends that agencies compile lists of local resources to help patients identify food sources. Agencies can also ask questions during their assessments about food security. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) had previously approved language with common questions related to food security and food costs.

PACE and Adults Day Providers Many participants in adult day care programs, as well as the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) – a Medicare and Medicaid program that helps people meet their health care needs in the community instead of going to a nursing home or other care setting – receive SNAP benefits to support nutrition needed for independence. The failure of the federal government to pay these benefits to states will impose additional financial burden on PACE programs that will assess gaps in participant wellbeing. As benefits dry up, PACE programs will attempt to backfill funding and services to meet participant needs with funding to allow people to remain healthy in their homes. PACE programs likely won’t have a sense of how extensive those costs could be or to what extent they will be able to bridge those benefit gaps.

Aging Services Workforce The loss of SNAP benefits could impact aging services staff more broadly, particularly lower-wage earners like those employed in direct care, housekeeping, and maintenance roles. This could have a spiraling effect on such staff, potentially requiring them to seek additional work with downstream impacts on their health and burnout. 

The Broader Picture

Affordable senior housing providers and other aging services providers rely on federal appropriations to operate critical programs for older adults beyond SNAP, including HUD’s housing programs, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, some of the Older American Act meals and services programs, and more.

Shutdown “off-ramp” talks are expected to begin in Congress in early November, but a full-year funding agreement for the federal government could take days or weeks to achieve once the government is reopened, according to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD).