By Morgan Chilson, Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — The federal government shutdown could mean Kansans who rely on food assistance will miss a November payment, and the state is working to determine options should that occur. The possibility troubles a Kansas City-area social services leader who said resources are already stretched to the breaking point.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Services notified regional offices Friday that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Funds may not go through in November if the federal government doesn’t reopen.
“As stated in our lapse of appropriation correspondence dated October 1, 2025, SNAP has funding available for benefits and operations through the month of October. However, if the current lapse in appropriations continues, there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits for approximately 42 million individuals across the Nation,” said a letter signed by Ronald Ward, acting associate administrator of the SNAP program at USDA.
In May 2025, 186,000 Kansans received SNAP benefits, at a cost of nearly $33 million, according to USDA data.
“The fact that many folks possibly may not receive benefits next month is really scary,” said Susila Jones, executive director of Cross-lines Community Outreach, Kansas City, Kansas. “Food insecurity is already at an all-time high in our area. It’s a concern for folks who already come to our pantry, and I’m assuming there will be a lot of people who have not needed to rely on pantries that may need them.”
Cross-Lines offers food and housing assistance in Wyandotte County, including operating a food kitchen and food pantry, where Kansans can receive food based on the size of their families, Jones said.
When the federal government shut down in 2019, many SNAP recipients experienced a long delay between payment of their monthly benefits before the shutdown was resolved, according to the federal Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.
The state received the notice and is evaluating what could be done for Kansas SNAP recipients, Erin La Row, spokeswoman for Kansas Department for Families and Children, said Wednesday.
Jones said escalating inflation has caused most food pantries in the Kansas City area to struggle to keep food on their shelves.
“Over the past year, but especially since the first of the year, we have seen an increase in need,” she said. “We can’t even keep up with it. We can only serve 100 people a day, and we meet that almost every day already.”
In the letter to SNAP regional directors, Ward said his agency is working to gather information to create contingency plans if needed. However, Ward said states that normally would be preparing their electronic transfer files to send out November payments are directed to hold those payments.
On Sept. 30, the National WIC Association raised concerns that SNAP’s Women, Infant and Children program had only enough funds to make payments for a short time following the shutdown.
“Every day of inaction brings us closer to a crisis,” said Georgia Machell, president and CEO of the National WIC Association. “Failure to rapidly reopen the government could result in State WIC directors being put in the horrible position of trying to manage their programs with insufficient funds.”
