MEDFORD, Ore. – An urgent warning from Senator Jeff Merkley tonight. The senator says that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP could run out of funds before the fiscal year ends. That is the end of September.
Before the coronavirus hit, hundreds of thousands of Oregonians struggled to put food on the table according to Merkley. From March to April, six million Americans became newly eligible for SNAP benefits nationwide.
Currently the USDA has a projected $2 billion surplus at the end of September but that model was created before the pandemic. Merkley says in the first week of August, applications rose 37 percent, since the $600 unemployment benefits expired.
“Here in Oregon last week, we had 5,800 new applicants. To give you a sense of what that means in a normal week, there are a little over 300 applicants before the pandemic,” says Sen. Merkley.
If SNAP funding runs out before Sept. 30, Merkley says people with SNAP funds on their cards wouldn’t be able to use them.
Sen. Merkley says his team is reaching out to the Trump administration to transfer funds from other programs, or to get more passed.
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