By:Erin Bamer
Nebraska Examiner
LINCOLN — With the federal government now re-opened, Nebraska’s Department of Health and Human Services has resumed distribution of food assistance.
DHHS announced Thursday that it had distributed “partial” Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits — or SNAP — to Nebraska participants for November. The maximum allotment per household is 65% of the maximum monthly allotment, which could be scaled down based on income, according to the department’s website.
Federally funded SNAP benefits were in limbo during the 43-day government shutdown that came to a close Wednesday after President Donald Trump signed a resolution funding the government through Jan. 30. Federal officials claimed that roughly half of November’s SNAP benefits were still being distributed, but the timeline of that distribution was murky.
The shutdown, which started when Congress failed to pass annual spending laws by Oct. 1, left SNAP without any appropriated funding for November and beyond. A number of lawsuits left the nature of the payments unclear. In Nebraska, about 150,000 low-income and eligible participants, including children, participate in SNAP.
Gov. Jim Pillen made it clear at multiple points during the shutdown that the state would not fund Nebraska’s SNAP program in the meantime.
“Nobody’s going to go hungry,” Pillen said at a Nov. 6 news conference. “We have extraordinary services, from food pantries to engage churches and services across the state.”
DHHS Economic Assistance Director Shannon Grotrian said soon after the shutdown ended that department officials began talks with federal officials to reestablish the benefits.
“After guidance was received from the USDA [U.S. Department of Agriculture] authorizing partial issuances, the team immediately worked to ensure these payments were issued as soon as possible,” Grotrian said.
Statewide advocacy group Nebraska Appleseed criticized the Trump administration for not funding SNAP during the shutdown.
In a separate press release Wednesday, Eric Savaiano, Nebraska Appleseed’s Food and Nutrition Access Program Manager, claimed the administration could have used its transfer authority to keep the program running.
“Food should not be used as a political tool, and we are glad this unnecessary food crisis is over for now,” Savaiano said.