All 43 Florida Democratic state legislators sent a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Tuesday urging him to declare a state of emergency due to the impending loss of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding.
SNAP benefits for millions of people are set to expire starting Saturday as the nearly month-long government shutdown continues.
“This is not speculation, this is reality,” the lawmakers, led by House Minority Leader Fentris Driskell (D) and state Senate Minority Leader Lori Berman (D), said in a letter. “We are days away from a full-blown hunger emergency that leaves families without food for the holidays. The state cannot afford to sit idly by.”
More than 2.9 million Floridians, or about 13% of the state’s population, received SNAP benefits in fiscal year 2024, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a think tank focused on combating poverty and inequality. Approximately 41.7 million people across the United States received monthly SNAP benefits during the same period, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The letter asks DeSantis to declare a state of emergency on food insecurity. In doing so, the governor would authorize state agencies to obtain food supplies from the state’s Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund, direct the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) to coordinate distribution of relief supplies with local food banks and community partners, and ask the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to implement the Universal School Lunch Program for the remainder of the closure period.
According to DeSantis’ fiscal year 2025-26 budget, the Preparedness and Response Fund consists of $1 billion.
“Florida has the financial strength to respond. What we need now is the moral will to act,” the lawmakers wrote in their request.
The Department of Agriculture, which allocates SNAP funds to states, announced last week that it would not use more than $5 billion in emergency funds to cover a portion of next month’s estimated $9.2 billion in benefits. The ministry argued in a memo on Friday that the fund can only be accessed in the event of unforeseen circumstances, such as natural disasters.
This contradicts a closure plan published by the Department of Agriculture on September 30th and later removed. The plan states that the USDA is required by Congress to allocate SNAP benefits using contingency funds during the shutdown.
As October draws to a close, states are sounding the alarm. DCF, which administers Florida’s SNAP program, says on its website that no November benefits will be issued until the funds expire.
The department added that SNAP money on a beneficiary’s electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card can still be used. When asked for clarification on whether remaining benefits can be used starting Saturday, DCF said, “Existing SNAP benefits can continue to be used.”
Asked about the letter at a news conference Wednesday, DeSantis sought to flip the script on Democrats during the government shutdown, asking whether lawmakers had also sent a letter to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York asking him to end the filibuster. [government] Expenses. ”
