With the federal government shutdown dragging on, Gov. Phil Scott and legislative leaders on Wednesday approved a $6.3 million plan to backfill food benefits for 15 days if federal funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program run dry on Nov. 1.
Vermont is one of the few states opting to cover the cost of SNAP benefits — at least temporarily — if America’s largest anti-hunger program halts benefits next month. Most are instead directing extra money to food shelves.
“I think we’re doing it right,” Scott, a Republican, said Wednesday.
Roughly one in 10 Vermonters rely on the federal food assistance program, known in the state as 3SquaresVT.
Officials anticipate that SNAP recipients could have trouble accessing the state-funded benefits for up to a week as officials work out technological kinks with electronic benefits transfer, or EBT, cards. But a full two-week benefit will ultimately be made available. On average, for a single person, that will add up to about $118.
The Vermont Emergency Board, a five-member panel made of Scott and four legislative leaders, on Wednesday also greenlit $250,000 for the Vermont Foodbank to help meet increased demand. The Emergency Board can approve spending packages when the full Legislature is not in session.
More from Vermont Public: Food shelves in Vermont are facing increased need
Democratic leaders in the Vermont Legislature have generally been more bullish about backfilling the food assistance program than Scott, who initially suggested the state only partially cover the benefit. Ultimately, the two sides arrived at a compromise: fully funding the program, but for just two weeks, at least for now.
“I don't know how many of you have ever been on food stamps. It's really like barely enough to feed yourself,” Rep. Emilie Kornheiser, the Democrat who chairs the House Committee on Ways and Means, told reporters Wednesday.
The Emergency Board plans to meet again on Nov. 13 to decide what to do about the food benefits program if the shutdown still hasn’t ended. The state does have somewhat substantial reserves from which to draw from: Lawmakers previously set aside more than $100 million to help the state weather federal shortfalls, and about $50 million of that is available to the Emergency Board.
It’s unclear whether Vermont will ever be reimbursed for the money it is doling out to keep food assistance flowing. Both Scott and lawmakers said Wednesday they were operating under the assumption that it wouldn’t.
Scott stressed after Wednesday’s meeting that while Vermont was in a “pretty good position from a financial standpoint” to continue paying for its SNAP program, it could not do so indefinitely.
“From the very beginning, I said we could go days, maybe weeks — months would be problematic,” he said.
The state joined a multi-state lawsuit on Tuesday accusing the Trump administration of illegally suspending SNAP benefits. The suit says Congress set aside contingency funds for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to keep the program afloat in precisely these sorts of circumstances.
Vermont also plans to release money to pay for fuel assistance as it awaits federal funds from the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program — although that money is also in limbo due to the shutdown. Scott and lawmakers both say they’re much more confident they’ll be refunded for that money once Congress passes an appropriations bill.
This story was updated at 5 p.m.
