Tennessee Governor Bill Lee warned Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) customers to expect a lapse in benefits on their cards beginning November 1, because Congressional Democrats have not voted to end the government shutdown.
The Governor said “the longer Democrats wait to reopen the government, the more delays customers can expect as the program restarts”.
The SNAP program is federally funded and operated.
Tennessee is unable to utilize state dollars to provide the benefit, as states do not have a mechanism to load benefits onto customer cards.
Governor Lee said his administration is working with members of the faith community and nonprofit partners to ensure Tennessee families do not go hungry,”
Per U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidance, any remaining benefits from the month of October may still be accessed in November.
More than 690,000 Tennesseans rely on SNAP.
The federal government spends approximately $146 million per month to fund Tennessee’s SNAP program.
