Organizations dedicated to helping feed South Florida families are facing increasing demands for assistance as they wait for the Trump administration to carry out a judge’s order to fully fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.
“We’re committed to making sure that if you’re homebound, senior, that we get you some food right away,” said Meals on Wheels Broward Executive Director Wendy Bourgault.
That task for South Florida organizations like Meals on Wheels Broward is expected to become substantially more difficult as the government shutdown continues into its 38th day.
Among the many impacts caused by the shutdown is millions of Americans losing their SNAP benefits.
Most of the calls received by organizations have been from seniors who lost their benefits.
“These seniors are scared to death. They’re frantic,” said Bourgault. “These are the most vulnerable seniors in our community.”
Meals on Wheels delivers food weekly to roughly 260 low-income homebound Broward seniors. With no clear end to the shutdown in sight, the organization is expecting the number of seniors they help to double.
The anxiety over keeping food on the table is also amplified by thousands of federal workers who have gone without paychecks.
“It’s overwhelming. It’s overwhelming with the government shutdown but we’re super thankful,” said one federal worker.
On Miami Beach, a long line of people could be seen waiting to receive canned food and fresh produce from Feeding South Florida, Friday.
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to use a contingency fund to replenish SNAP after payments came to a halt at the start of November.
The administration initially agreed to partially pay out benefits for recipients but said it would take some time for that to process.
From the judge’s ruling:
“The defendants failed to consider the practical consequences…”
The judge went on to accuse the administration and United States Department of Agriculture of withholding benefits for political reasons.
“They knew that there would be a long delay in paying partial SNAP payments and failed to consider the harms individuals who rely on those benefits would suffer.”
Attorneys for the Trump administration have said they intend to appeal the judge’s decision ordering to fully fund SNAP benefits.
“This court should allow USDA to continue with a partial payment and not compel the agency to transfer billions of dollars from another safety net program with no certainty of their replenishment.”
Meantime, millions of federal workers and SNAP recipients across the country are caught in the middle and scrambling to keep food in their pantries.
“The fear in these folks, you’d think, ‘Wow, at 90-years-old, to have to fear how I’m gonna eat tonight.’ We’re better than that,” said Bourgault.
The USDA has said they will abide by the judge’s order to fully fund SNAP benefits but it’s unclear how long it will take for those payments to process for recipients.
Senate Democrats also offered a new deal to Republicans that would reopen the government, including extending health care subsidies for one year. It remains unclear if Republicans will agree with the newest deal as many remain opposed to a straight extension to those subsidies, arguing they need reforms first.
If you would like to donate food and supplies to help struggling families, you can donate to Meals on Wheels here and The Pantry of Broward here.
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