Copyright The Boston Globe
Governor Maura Healey has said the state cannot afford to cover the cost of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program starting next month, but officials in at least a dozen states have said they are planning to provide money for food assistance. The states are looking to use everything from leftover funds to dollars from other federal programs to make up for $8 billion per month that the Trump administration is refusing to provide for SNAP during the government shutdown. Healey has said the state cannot afford to make up for the more than $200 million in lost monthly SNAP payments, even as the state’s “rainy day” contingency fund contains more than $8 billion. Instead, she called on residents to donate to United Way. Advertisement “The facts are that Donald Trump, right now, is refusing to fund SNAP even though he has the funds to do it,” Healey said on Monday. “The facts are that every other president during a federal shutdown has continued SNAP benefits for kids, for our seniors, for people with disabilities, using contingency funds.” Massachusetts joined 24 other states and the District of Columbia in a lawsuit filed on Tuesday seeking to force the US Department of Agriculture to use contingency funds to pay for SNAP benefits. The department said it lacked the legal authority to fund SNAP during the government shutdown. On Beacon Hill, leading lawmakers echoed Healey’s line. “There is no end to the potential risk that we have running through the rainy day fund,” House Speaker Ron Mariano told the Globe on Wednesday. “We would then be in the position of picking winners and losers, and it’s the federal government who’s choosing not to fund these things.” Advertisement House Budget Committee chair Aaron Michlewitz said he worried about “the slippery slope that we could fall into about completely replacing federal dollars on a number of levels, not just on this one particular item.” Below is a list of what some other states have said they will do to make up for the lost SNAP funds. California Governor Gavin Newsom said he would deploy the California National Guard to assist food banks and seek at least $80 million in state support. Colorado Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is asking the state legislature for $10 million to support local food banks. Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont is using $3 million in state funding to support nonprofit Connecticut Foodshare. Hawaii Governor Josh Green will use $100 million from the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families to make up for lost benefits. Louisiana Lawmakers are working on a plan to spend up to $150 million of the money allocated to the state health department to pay for benefits. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is shifting $4 million from the state’s Department of Human Services to local food banks. New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte is planning to use $2 million from the state’s Medicaid Enhancement Tax to help pay for mobile food pantries open to SNAP recipients, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is expediting $8 million available to support local food banks. New York Governor Hochul is using $41 million of state funds to provide meals and support local emergency food relief. Advertisement Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee said he will tap $6 million in federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families to partially offset the loss of SNAP benefits. Vermont Governor Phil Scott is seeking $13 million in temporary funding from the state legislature to make up for lost benefits from SNAP and a federal heating bill subsidy program. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin said the state will use $37.5 million of surplus funds to be distributed through a state-created food assistance program with benefits added to SNAP recipients’ EBT cards starting on Nov. 3. Aaron Pressman can be reached at aaron.pressman@globe.com. Follow him @ampressman. Anjali Huynh can be reached at anjali.huynh@globe.com.
