Dive Brief:
- A prolonged federal government shutdown is causing some school systems and government agencies to provide outreach and extra supports for low-income families and children affected by the likely expiration of benefits.
- Advocates for low-income families are warning that childhood hunger will increase when funding expires Nov. 1 for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — the nation’s largest federal food assistance program.
- While SNAP benefits are of immediate concern, some school systems, advocates and policymakers also said they are worried about the long-term sustainability of free-or reduced-price school lunch programs, as well as access to Head Start services if the shutdown isn’t resolved soon.
Dive Insight:
About 39% of SNAP recipients are children under the age of 18, according to the National Education Policy Center.
The National School Boards Association is “deeply concerned” that more children will go hungry with the suspension of SNAP benefits, said Verjeana McCotter-Jacobs, the group’s executive director and CEO, in a Thursday statement.
“Schools are doing everything they can to provide safe, stable environments where students can learn and thrive — but they cannot do it alone,” McCotter-Jacobs said.
Some school districts, such as Washington’s North Kitsap School District and Colorado’s Adams 12 Five Star Schools, are messaging their communities about how they and their partners are supporting families and children in need through school meal benefits and local resources.
The federal government shutdown began Oct. 1 when Congress could not agree on a fiscal year 2026 budget. While most daily school operations were not expected to be impacted by a short-term government closure, the longer the shutdown lasts, the more impacts to school services there could be, according to K-12 organizations.
During the shutdown, federal agencies have furloughed staff, hampering federal assistance to states and districts. At the U.S. Department of Education, about 95% of the non-Federal Student Aid staff were furloughed during the first week of the closure, according to the agency’s shutdown contingency plan from Sept. 28.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers SNAP and the National School Lunch Program, said in an Oct. 1 memo to regional and state directors of Child Nutrition Programs that funding for the school lunch program would be available at least through October.
Even though SNAP is used as a proxy for school meal eligibility, the School Nutrition Association said the expiration of SNAP benefits will not affect children’s eligibility for free and reduced-price school meals.
The association is, however, encouraging its members to plan for increased participation among children whose families lose their SNAP benefits and to look into community-based support for struggling families, said SNA spokesperson Diane Pratt-Heavner.
According to Pratt-Heavner and an FAQ updated by SNA on Oct. 27, several states reported having inadequate funding to cover school nutrition programs in October early during the shutdown and said reimbursements to districts could be delayed should the shutdown extend beyond Nov. 1.
Pratt Heavner said since then, SNA has been hearing from state agencies that their issues were addressed. Additionally, in an Oct. 24 memo, USDA said it had transferred funds to the Child Nutrition Program to carry out the National School Lunch Program and other activities, according to SNA.
School meals served in October are reimbursed by USDA in November and the November meals are reimbursed in December, according to Pratt-Heavner. SNA is continuing to monitor the situation, Pratt-Heavner said.
In Maryland, an Oct. 9 letter to districts from State Superintendent of Schools Carey Wright said that if the federal government shutdown continued through November, the state education department would seek state approval to reimburse claims for November. If the shutdown goes into December, districts may be asked to rely on available food service fund balances to support the programs until the shutdown ends, the letter said.
This week, 25 states and the District of Columbia sued the USDA claiming the agency unlawfully suspended SNAP benefits for November during the government shutdown, according to reporting by Grocery Dive.
Meanwhile, Head Start advocates are sounding alarms that more than 65,000 children in 41 states and Puerto Rico will lose access to the early childhood program for youngsters from low-income families starting Nov. 1 due to the funding impasse.
The National Head Start Association is calling on Congress to resolve the budget debate now. “With each passing day of the shutdown, families are pushed closer to crisis,” said Yasmina Vinci, NHSA’s executive director, in an Oct. 27 statement.