As the federal shutdown continues, people who rely on the services it provides are worried they won’t be able to put food on the table. Democratic state lawmakers are proposing a bill to require the state to fund food programs to ensure low-income people can get food if the shutdown continues.
The state has advised Ohioans who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or the Women, Infants and Children program that they may not receive their benefits in November if the shutdown drags on. Columbus resident Peaches Calhoun said she fears she will soon be helplessly looking in the faces of her four hungry kids, and said politicians in Washington need to examine their priorities.
"They build ballrooms while I'm building a grocery list that don't add up. How do you have marble floors and empty pantries at the same time?" Calhoun said at a press conference with Democrats announcing their bill.
Calhoun said she has a job, but it's not enough to pay the bills. And she said she often runs out of food by the end of the month, leaving her watching to see when her EBT card is reloaded with benefits so she can get groceries.
"I watch that SNAP up like it's the lottery the night before it reloads, refreshing the screen, doing mental math, trying to make spaghetti stretch one more night. When I finally hit the store and walk in the aisles, I have my calculator out, switching strawberries for apples, cereal for oatmeal, and praying that card doesn't flash insufficient," Calhoun said.
Watch Calhoun's full comments here.
Statehouse Democrats say something needs to happen now
Rep. Latyna Humphrey (D-Columbus) is sponsoring HB 502, a bill that would allow Ohio to use dollars from the state's rainy day fund to backfill any federal shortfalls in SNAP, WIC, and Temporary Aid to Needy Families, or TANF. All three programs provide dollars to support foodbanks and directly to low-income families.
The state's budget stabilization fund is at a record $3.985 billion.
Franklin County Commissioner Erica Crawley said this shutdown is shaping up to be one of the longest in the nation's history. Crawley, who's a Democratic former state lawmaker, said 1.4 million Ohio residents—or one in eight Ohioans—will not receive SNAP benefits in November. She said most of them are children and senior citizens.
Mike Cochran with the Mid-Ohio Food Collective said his agency has been dealing with increased demand, serving about 58% more families now than they were at the peak of COVID pandemic. He said they serve about 5,000 families every day. He said that need could increase further if federal workers who are now missing paychecks turn to his agency and others like it for food assistance.
Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said he is also concerned about the possibility of disruption in the programs.
"My understanding is if there's no settlement before the end of the month, when that money would normally be loaded in, it will not be loaded in unless the federal government figures out so we are very concerned about that."
Food banks have said they're open, but are urging their supporters to help out if they can.
Humphrey said she wants lawmakers to act now. She said she and other Democrats are willing to work with Republicans to address the problem now, so something is in place should the shutdown continue into next month.
“We fast-track bills every single day. We can do that with this bill today.”
HB 502 was introduced on Oct. 7. It's been assigned to a committee but has not had a hearing.
