CHARLESTON — With the federal government shutdown showing no signs of ending in the short-term, the effects are now being felt by West Virginia’s most vulnerable populations.

In a Facebook post Saturday, the West Virginia Department of Human Services said the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits set to begin after Oct. 16 would be delayed and SNAP benefits for November could also face delays.

“Due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, the United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (USDA FNS) has directed the West Virginia Department of Human Services (DoHS) and other state SNAP agencies to delay the issuance of October 2025 SNAP benefits approved on or after October 16, 2025,” according to the statement.

“Additionally, we have been notified that it is very likely the federal government shutdown will delay November SNAP benefits for all recipients if Congress does not take action to reopen the government in the coming days,” the statement continued. “We understand that this news may raise concerns, and we appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate this federal issue. We will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.”

USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins confirmed that SNAP benefit pauses were coming due to the program running out of funds following the closure of the federal government effective Oct. 1 when the U.S. Senate could not come to an agreement on a clean continuing resolution to keep the government funded at current rates through Nov. 21 as Congress works to pass appropriations bills for the new federal fiscal year.

“Everything is shut down at the USDA,” Rollins told reporters at the White House Thursday. “The Democrats are holding hostage women, infants, children through the WIC program, those on the (SNAP) program. Our farmers’ aid can’t move because of the government shutdown. It is one thing after another…it is sort of insane.”

SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, is a federal program supervised by states that helps families with low income purchase food, delivering those families funds through electronic benefit transfer cards each month. Eligibility for SNAP is based on income, household size, and other factors.

According to the USDA, there were 274,566 West Virginians participating in SNAP as of May, down from 280,551 individuals in May 2024. SNAP provided more than $45.8 million in benefits as of May in West Virginia. Nationally, more than 41.7 million people, or more than 22.4 million households, participated in SNAP as of May.

“An important role of the government is to provide that safety net for those with the least among us,” Rollins said. “We’re going to run out of money in two weeks, so you’re talking about millions and millions of vulnerable families, of hungry families, who are not going to have access to these programs because of this shutdown.”

Mountaineer Food Bank, one of West Virginia’s two largest food banks, partners with the United Way to provide SNAP application assistance. Caitlin Cook, the director of advocacy and public policy for Mountaineer Food Bank, said pressure on local food banks will increase as the federal government shutdown continues and the SNAP runs out of money.

“There is always potential for a federal government shutdown to impact federal nutrition programs that are vital food access points for our neighbors who don’t know where their next meal is coming from,” Cook said. “As this current shutdown inches closer to November 1st, the potential pain caused to food insecure West Virginians grows drastically. Not only will thousands of West Virginians not have access to SNAP benefits in November, but the charitable food network’s food inventory pipeline will face major disruptions.”

Cook said food orders made through other federal programs, such as the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), were made in advance and no new orders were placed in October. But if the shutdown continues, November will be a difficult month for area food banks.

“It is likely November will be an extremely difficult month for food insecure West Virginians, and the charitable food network will struggle to meet the gap in food access needs,” Cook said. “All of this comes at a time when food prices remain high and we’re already experiencing an uptick in food insecure West Virginians.”

In the meantime, Mountaineer Food Bank is working to purchase food and work with retail partners to obtain more food to distribute to individuals and local food distribution programs to help bridge the gap being caused by the SNAP pause. Mountaineer Food Bank is also staying in close contact with state and federal officials.

West Virginia’s SNAP program was already facing restrictions due to passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — now called the Working Families Tax Cut Act — and an approved waiver requested by the state to limit use of SNAP benefits for soda.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2026, West Virginians on SNAP will no longer be able to purchase regular, diet or zero-calorie sodas for a two-year period. West Virginia’s SNAP waiver was approved by the USDA in August.

Prior to the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, individuals between the ages of 18 and 55 receiving SNAP with no dependents were limited to three months of SNAP benefits unless they could show they worked 80 hours of work per month. That has now been expanded to parents with children age 14 or older and adults up to age 64. It also removes exceptions for military veterans and the homeless.

According to the West Virginia Center for Budget and Policy which advocates for increased federal and state funding for safety net programs, these and other SNAP changes could reduce overall federal funding for food in the state by approximately $36 million, with more than 166,000 SNAP households in West Virginia seeing their benefits reduced by at least $25.