Ohio leaders have announced a plan that will provide up to $25 million to help families who could lose Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits beginning Saturday because of the government shutdown.
Gov. Mike DeWine, Ohio Senate President Rob McColley and Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman made the announcement Thursday.
DeWine will sign an executive order instructing the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) to provide $7 million to several Ohio food banks and up to $18 million in emergency relief funds to more than 63,000 Ohioans, including more than 57,000 children, who are at or fall under 50% of the federal poverty level.
In announcing the emergency relief funds, DeWine called on U.S. Senate Democrats to vote to pass a continuing resolution to reopen the federal government and fund SNAP benefits.
“The easiest and best way to help Ohioans in need of food assistance is for U.S. Senate Democrats to end its filibuster of SNAP benefits and other important federal programs and approve the clean continuing resolution passed by the U.S. House,” DeWine said. “While it is no substitute for the relief Senate Democrats could provide today, this funding will help get more resources into the household budgets of the Ohio families who need it most.”
Democrats in the Senate have refused to vote for the Republican short-term funding because it has not included an extension of the enhanced premium tax credits for health care plans people buy on the Affordable Care Act marketplaces.
“I’m very supportive of this plan to help Ohioans in need as we await action from Democrats in the U.S. Senate,” Huffman said. “Although SNAP is a federally managed and federally funded program, Ohio is taking intentional steps to provide relief for those families who will be most impacted by the loss of these benefits.”
DeWine’s executive order instructs ODJFS to allocate $7 million to regional food banks using Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds.
Around 1.4 million Ohio residents receive a total of $264 million in SNAP benefits every month. That breaks down to a monthly average of $190 in SNAP benefits per person.
