Minnesota food shelves to get $4 million as state prepares for loss of SNAP benefits

Minnesota is sending $4 million in emergency funding to food shelves as officials brace for federal food assistance benefits to run out because of the government shutdown.

DFL Gov. Tim Walz and state officials stressed Monday that the allocation is a stopgap that will only help temporarily. It will not be enough to make up for a drop-off in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding.

In an average month, about 440,000 Minnesotans receive SNAP benefits, which help low-income households buy groceries at authorized stores.

The federal government shutdown, which entered its 27th day on Monday, has forced state officials to pause SNAP applications. Federal officials have warned they won’t have money to fund SNAP if the shutdown drags into November.

Federal cuts to the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) have already cut more than a million pounds of food headed to Minnesota food shelves as food pantries have had to grapple with fewer groceries for those in need.

Speaking to reporters at an Eagan food pantry, Walz faulted Republicans in Washington for “choosing not to fund these programs.”

“End the shutdown and go back to work,” Walz said.

Walz said Senate Democrats should hold out for “as long as it takes” to secure the extension.

“This is one you can’t lose,” Walz said. “You have to push back on it, or we lose all of the gains that we’ve made as a country.”

The $4 million in emergency funding for food shelves will come out of state contingency accounts, officials said. Tikki Brown, commissioner of Minnesota’s Department of Children, Youth and Families, said the money will be distributed quickly to 300 food shelves.

“Our goal is to make sure that these benefits are in people’s hands at the food shelf” by Nov. 4, she said.

Brown said the U.S. Department of Agriculture has notified the state that it will not reimburse the emergency funding allocation.