Copyright WEAU
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) - Almost 40 days of the government shutdown, now with SNAP benefits on hold for some Wisconsin families. Over the weekend, Western Wisconsin residents came together to donate food and raise awareness to the issue. In a previous interview with Representative Derrick Van Orden on the shutdown, he said “What it’s going to take to end the shutdown is for the Democrats in the Senate to put the American people above their party affiliation." Regardless, patience is running thin in the Badger state. A volunteer for GROWW, Abraham Smith said "The fundamental here is really simple right. People shouldn’t have to follow court cases and executive orders to know if they can buy breakfast in the morning." He, along with Dunn County residents came to Eau Claire to share more about why these benefits are needed. “In our county, in Dunn County. 4,266 people are at risk of losing their food coverage through SNAP or Food Share,” he said. In response, residents laid out 4,266 brown paper bags outside of Congressman Derrick Van Orden’s office in Eau Claire to represent those at risk. Some even sharing personal stories when they heard SNAP would be cut. One Dunn County resident said “I stared at the EBT app hoping it was a glitch, but it wasn’t. I started skipping meals so my kids could eat.” While reopening the government boils down to 60 votes, lawmakers said voting patterns have remained the same despite people putting the blame on political parties. Van Orden said " It’s completely illogical. You can’t shut down the government and then blame the other party for everything that’s going wrong." Regardless, these Wisconsinites said it doesn’t matter which side of the aisle you’re on. Smith said “it’s not about partisan politics, we don’t really care about this party or that party. This is about what people need in our communities and that’s what we want people to recognize.” So no matter which party gives the official vote to reopen the government, Smith said the message of “step forward, Fund SNAP at 100%” remains the same.
