The federal shutdown and ongoing lawsuits have scrambled plans for food aid in November. Montanans are trying to fill the gaps.
By Mara Silvers and Nora Mabie MONTANA FREE PRESS
As the federal government shutdown and ongoing litigation put the nation’s main federal food support program in limbo, local governments, groups and individuals across Montana are hustling to prevent hunger from gripping thousands of households in November.
In big cities and small towns, Montanans are responding to a possible cutoff of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits by donating to their local food banks, setting up new donation pantries, and even handing out macaroni and cheese and ramen packets on Halloween instead of candy.
Carolyn Dillon, the president of Beaverhead Food Pantry in southwest Montana, said she typically sees 130 families a week but is preparing for up to 180 if food aid is halted. She said her phone kept ringing Wednesday with offers of support for food drives, moving her to tears.
“I’ve just heard [people say] that, ‘We have to help the community, we have to help the community,’” Dillon said.
A federal judge in Delaware on Friday ordered the Trump administration’s U.S. Department of Agriculture to use emergency funding to keep SNAP flowing for millions of Americans during the government shutdown, a ruling that may or may not prevent benefits from being delayed on Nov. 1. In court, officials representing the Trump administration argued that the contingency fund is insufficient to support all SNAP beneficiaries and should be kept intact for natural disasters.
A pause on SNAP benefits could erase hundreds of dollars on average from the monthly food budgets of roughly 77,000 Montanans, according to data from Montana’s state health department. The pinch comes as the federal government shutdown nears the one-month mark, with majority Republicans in Congress so far failing to recruit enough votes from minority Democrats to end the stalemate. Both political parties are feuding over whether a continuing budget resolution should fund subsidies for health insurance plans sold on the federal marketplace.
A handful of Republican and Democratic state governors have pledged to help backfill their SNAP coffers in November to avoid a benefits cliff for residents. Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, a Republican, has declined to dip into state funds to help cover any gaps, citing the federal government’s responsibility for the program and the lack of guarantee that the state would be reimbursed when the federal government reopens.
“This is a federal program and we need the federal government to fund it,” Gianforte said in an October interview with KTVH. “… I just encourage Montanans to do what they can in their communities through their local food bank to make sure food stays on the table here in the state.”
In a statement Friday to Montana Free Press, Gianforte spokesperson Kaitlin Price reiterated the governor’s position and directed blame at congressional Democrats.
“While the governor believes these benefits are vital for vulnerable Montanans, he has been clear that the state cannot fund this federal program, which is funded by federal dollars, without guarantees for reimbursement,” Price said. “… [T]he simplest solution to Senate Democrats’ failure is for them to stop playing political games with people’s lives and fund the government right now.”
Advocates for food assistance in Montana have criticized the governor’s decision not to backfill food assistance with state funds. The Montana Food Bank Network has launched a campaign to pressure the governor to reverse his stance, a call that has been echoed by state-level Democratic lawmakers.
Dillon, the Beaverhead Food Pantry president, said she has heard from several residents of all political stripes who are frustrated with the governor’s decision. But much of that discontent, she said, is being channeled into action.
Dillon said she knows of six food drives happening in Dillon, the Beaverhead County town that happens to share her last name, ranging from the local library to marijuana dispensaries. The Women’s Resource Center, a local service provider for victims of domestic and sexual violence, also reached out to Dillon, offering to help collect food for the pantry.
“I said, ‘Well, keep the food for yourself first!” Dillon recalled.
Similar community food drives and organizing efforts are underway in other parts of the state as well. Local pastors are planning to convene in Glendive next week to coordinate resources to support local families. In Great Falls, St. Vincent de Paul aims to stretch food supplies further to keep the church’s community kitchen running, in addition to the Angel Room that serves unhoused people.In Montana, some tribal governments have also taken action. The Blackfeet Tribal Business Council said on Oct. 24 it authorized the culling of buffalo from the tribe’s herd “to help sustain food access during this period of uncertainty.” Days later, the council announced a state of emergency “in response to the ongoing SNAP crisis,” which allows tribal programs to access additional funding to meet members’ food needs.
Council member Lyle Rutherford told MTFP on Friday that the tribe had already culled 15 buffalo, and local ranchers donated three cows to the tribe for processing. He said the meat will be available for people beginning on Monday.
“SNAP has been one of the main components for our people to have sustainability,” he said. “… It gives people the ability to have nutritious foods. We’re making things readily available for people so people can at least have a meal.”
National tribal leaders told members of the U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee on Thursday that the SNAP disruptions would violate treaty obligations and disproportionately harm their members.
Ben Mallott, president of the Alaska Federation of Natives, told senators that members would soon have to choose between paying for food or paying to heat their houses amid dropping winter temperatures.
A.C. Locklear, CEO of the National Indian Health Board, said shutdowns “directly weaken the government’s capacity to meet its trust and treaty obligations.”
Two federal judges on Friday weighed in on challenges brought against the Trump administration over its decision to withhold emergency funding for SNAP benefits. In the federal district court in Delaware, Judge John McConnell ruled that the federal government must distribute the contingency funds “timely, or as soon as possible,” for November SNAP payments to go out.
In Massachusetts, federal district court Judge Indira Talwani also ruled that the government should tap into emergency funds to support food aid. The Trump administration did not immediately issue public statements about the rulings Friday afternoon.
In Beaverhead County, Dillon said she was well aware of how quickly the federal landscape could shift, potentially bringing the shutdown to an end. On the other hand, she said, political gridlock and bureaucracy could still leave many local residents without SNAP support for days or weeks.
“We’re preparing and we’ll be there for anybody who needs us,” Dillon said. “… I don’t turn anyone down. Whoever comes in gets fed.”
Matt Hudson, Katie Fairbanks and JoVonne Wagner contributed reporting.
