With SNAP benefits in flux, Philly finds short-term funding solutions but has no long-term answers

Since Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program benefits were put on pause nearly a week ago, city and state officials have scrambled to find funding to support local food banks and other hunger relief resources. But Rob Dubow, Philadelphia's director of finance, said these are only short-term solutions and the city's limited resources can't withstand the federal government shutdown continuing much longer.

"We don't have the capability to stand in for (SNAP) in the long term," Dubow said at City Council on Wednesday. "We just don't have that financial capability. … (Federal lawmakers) have to do their jobs."

MORE: City officials point residents to food aid resources amid SNAP pause

Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and President Donald Trump said they wouldn't provide money for SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, until the end of the shutdown. Despite two lawsuits, including one with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, the federal government said it will only partially fund SNAP. At Wednesday's hearing, officials said they expect it will take at least 10 days for cards to be reloaded with that partial funding.

The funding freeze has already put added strain on local food banks. George Matysik, executive director of Philly's Share Food Program, said his pantries are reporting a 12-fold increase in usage over the past two weeks.

With SNAP money in flux, Mayor Cherelle Parker signed an executive order on Saturday to create the $14 million One Philly (SNAP) Support Program, which includes $4 million from the city, $6 million from philanthropic organizations and $1 million from the state for food accessibility resources.

But city officials provided few answers about what to do if the shutdown extends beyond November, especially given that the federal contingency fund for SNAP can only support half of the $8 billion it provides to families each month. Councilmember Cindy Bass (D-8th) said that while she understood that it was an unexpected crisis, she believed the city is "ultimately responsible for our citizens" and called for a more concrete plan.

"It's great that we can have help from the commonwealth, it's great when we get federal assistance, but all of that being off the table, we have to make it happen," Bass said. "… I understand your concerns and your worry, but there's always some place that we could cut, at least temporarily, to figure that out and make it happen. I just wanted to emphasize that because I'm troubled by the idea that our only response is 'Well, they've got to do their jobs.'"

Loree Jones, the CEO of food organization Philabundance, said she was heartened by the city's coordinated response during this crisis, but it won't be enough. She said that for every $1 donated, Philabundance can provide two meals. With nearly 500,000 people in the city receiving SNAP benefits, even a $1 million donation would only provide about two meals per person in the city.

"Food banks cannot possibly make up for a loss of this magnitude," Jones said. "There's simply no substitute for SNAP."

Even before the current SNAP crisis, Jones said there was a 44% increase in food insecurity from 2021 to 2023 and that she's seen a surge in dual-income households seeking help from the program. Matysik said he's seen a 120% increase in people using Share Food's food pantries and fridges over the past year, all while federal resources have dwindled.

"While there are many echoes of 2020 and 2021 in this moment, the difference is during the pandemic, Washington helped us solve this problem," Matysik said. "In this moment, Washington and Washington alone is creating this problem."