It is day 29 of the government shutdown and around 900,000 Washingtonians, including 300,000 children, stand to lose access to food benefits on Nov. 1.
That is because during the shutdown, federal programs, including assistance, go unfunded. Before the government shutdown, money was allocated for October, but if the shutdown stretches into November, there will be no money to fund the program.
Now, food banks across Washingtonare trying to expand their reach as much as possible. That includes an emergency pop-up food distribution at Tacoma Dome on Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“We are seeing families who have never needed food bank support before now finding themselves in crisis,” Ahndrea Blue, Founder and President/CEO of the Making A Difference Foundation, said. “Eloise’s Cooking Pot was built for moments like this—to be there for our neighbors when they need us most. No one in our community should go hungry.”
This also comes asfederal workers are starting to see their first zero-dollar paychecks,putting thousands more Washingtonians in a place they have never been before, and depending on food assistance. Not only can Democrats and Republicans in Washington D.C. not agree on a spending bill to reopen the government, but also whether to pass a SNAP benefits funding extension.
“We are now heading into a SNAP crisis,” U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeen Jeffries (D-NY) said. “Donald Trump has decided that he wants to force millions of Americans, including possibly 16 million children, to experience hunger.”
“I think the White House, obviously, is faced with a tough decision,” U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thuen (R-SD) said. “They have to figure out how do they reallocate, reprioritize funding, where it goes, where it doesn’t go, and they’re doing everything they can legally and with the capacity that they have available to them to try and make this, I think, as painless as possible.”
Back in Washington state, Attorney General Nick Brown, along with 22 other attorneys general, issuing the Trump administration, hoping they will dip into the multi-billion-dollar rainy-day fund to fundSNAP benefits and ensure Americans still have access to food.
Also, Governor Bob Ferguson announced that he is directing $2.2 million state dollars a week to support food banks. The first transfer will be made on Nov. 3 if Congress and President Trump cannot reach an agreement to extend benefits.Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hillmust come to an agreement on a spending billin order to end the shutdown, restore government-funded programs, and pay federal employees.
트위터 공유: 워싱턴 식량 위기 극복 타코마 돔 긴급 식량 나눔 행사