Last Saturday, approximately 1.4 million Ohioans did not receive their SNAP benefits. Without them, families will be deprived of a core universal human right: food.
Due to the ongoing government shutdown, which is on the verge of becoming the longest shutdown in American history, SNAP will run out of funding at the start of the month.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), is a federally funded program that “supplement[s] the food budget of needy families so they can purchase healthy food and move towards self-sufficiency.”
According to the International United Nations’ Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), food is recognized as a human right under Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Cultural and Social Rights.
The document states that food insecurity is not solely rooted in a mere lack of food, but a “lack of access to available food, inter alia because of poverty, by large segments of the world’s population.”
The federal government’s month-long shutdown began due to an inability to approve an appropriations bill (S.2882) before the start of the 2026 fiscal year on Oct.1. Appropriations are legal approvals that allow federal spending on various government programs.
According to an official document from congress.gov, the bill aimed to approve additional funding for Medicaid. In case of a shutdown, a resolution is issued to give temporary funding to government programs. This time, SNAP is not one of those programs.
The lack of bipartisan resolution on this matter is amusing, considering food is considered a human right.
Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the Senate minority leader, said this on X, formally known as Twitter:
“We just tried to pass [Sen. Ben Ray Lujan]’s bill to keep both SNAP and WIC funded. But Senator [John] Thune OBJECTED. The Republicans are weaponizing hunger, plain and simple.”
However, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D has an opposing perspective; he said the Democrats are the problem, calling the then 29-day closure a “democrat shutdown.”
Neither party acknowledges that both sides could be part of the problem.
After a month of childish “he said, she said,” the American people are now experiencing the shutdown’s direct effects as their stomachs growl in anguish. When will our “representative” politicians put the people first and not their own bravado? Once again, the federal government is using its constituents as chess pieces for their own self-interest.
On Nov. 3, President Donald Trump approved an emergency amount of funding to help fund SNAP; however, only half of the normally allotted fundings will be distributed.
Due to the federal government’s lack of action, some states have taken action to lend temporary aid.
On Oct. 30, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed an executive order providing “up to $25 million for food assistance to help Ohio families that will be affected by the suspension of federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, should the ongoing federal government shutdown continue.”
This also includes $7 million for various Ohio food banks.
Other states like Michigan and Illinois have also allocated supplementary funds to support their residents; however, not all states have the extra funding to support a temporary extension of SNAP.
In Ohio, 1 in 8 Franklin County residents are a part of the SNAP program.
At the university level, resource centers like the Cap Cupboard are staying open and are not affected by SNAP’s delay. Students can visit the Cap Cupboard in the basement of the Harry C. Moores Student Union.
