Supporting DC Families (and Happy Halloween! 🎃👻🧟‍♂️)

Dear Ward 5 neighbors, 

Last week, I warned of an impending hunger crisis if action was not taken to protect SNAP and ensure residents receive their November benefits. I’m glad to share with you that several developments over the past 24 hours will allow us to protect recipients and ensure they receive their benefits. 

• Yesterday, Mayor Bowser authorized the use of local funds to cover the funding gaps for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC) if necessary amid the ongoing federal shutdown and the federal government’s refusal to release funds. 
• Today, two federal judges ruled that the Trump administration must distribute benefits owed to SNAP recipients “as soon as possible,” as part of a lawsuit filed by more than 20 attorneys general across the U.S., including DC’s Attorney General Brian Schwalb. 

More than 140,000 residents (in approximately 85,000 households) receive SNAP benefits, at an average issuance of $314/month. An additional 12,500 residents (in approximately 8,300 households) receive WIC, making it possible for them to purchase infant formula, nutritious food, and fruits and vegetables. When we fund SNAP and WIC, we not only fulfill our moral obligation to ensure the wellbeing of these neighbors, we also help generate healthy economic activity in the District. For every $1 of SNAP benefits disbursed, approximately $1.54 of economic activity is generated.

To be clear, the federal government has ~$5-6 billion in contingency funds available to disburse SNAP benefits, even with the government shutdown. The lawsuit and the debate over whether the District would cover the funding gap locally is a choice on the part of the federal administration—a choice to create chaos and to use hunger as a political weapon. But both the rulings from the courts today and the Mayor’s announcement yesterday make it clear that we will be able to take care of residents.