State: SNAP Good Through October

North Carolinians who rely on federal food assistance programs will continue receiving benefits through October, state officials said today (Wednesday).
With the federal government shutdown in its second week, the N.C. Dept. of Health and Human Services is actively working with local, state and federal partners to navigate the evolving impacts on essential services, DHHS officials said in a press release.
Recipients include people who receive food benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as Food and Nutrition Services. NCDHHS is awaiting guidance from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) for impacts beyond October should the shutdown continue. There are 1.4 million people in North Carolina that rely on SNAP for food assistance. More than 700,000 households receive benefits each month and four out of five families participating in SNAP in North Carolina have either a child, senior or an adult with a disability.
This also includes people who receive benefits as part of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program. NCDHHS is working diligently to try and mitigate these impacts and is in consistent communication with county and federal partners. WIC currently serves approximately 262,000 women, infants and children who rely on the program for access to nutritious food, breastfeeding support, nutrition education and health care referrals.
“Food and nutrition are foundational to good health and people should not have to worry about their families and communities going hungry,” said N.C. Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai. “NCDHHS hopes for a quick resolution to the federal shutdown to ensure people in North Carolina are not at risk of losing critical food benefits.”
For each program potentially impacted by the shutdown, the federal government is deciding which would be “exempt” from a shutdown and giving DHHS guidance on how to proceed. For more information on SNAP or WIC benefits and impacts from the federal shutdown visit www.ncdhhs.gov/fns.