By Vanguard Staff
WASHINGTON — The National Housing Law Project (NHLP) released a statement today in response to the lapse of funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that warned of grave consequences for low-income families.
Deputy Director Deborah Thrope framed the issue in stark terms, saying, “No matter what we look like, where we call home, or how much is in our wallets, we do what it takes to house and feed our families. Starting today, people will go hungry or face homelessness because the Trump administration refuses to release SNAP funding for millions of our neighbors and Congressional Republicans continue to reject proposals to end the government shutdown.”
Thrope added that “In the richest country in the world, the government shouldn’t force people to choose between rent, food, and healthcare. Trump and Congressional Republicans are undermining our federal government’s ability to help people meet their basic needs, and making poor and working people’s survival dependent on massive corporations that put their profit first.”
She continued, “Today the rent is due for 44 million tenants, health costs will spike for 24 million people, and 40 million people, including 16 million kids, won’t get the food they need to survive. Congress must fight to keep the poor and working families who they represent fed, housed, and healthy.”
The NHLP warned that as the shutdown continues into December, risks to federal-assisted tenants under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs will increase. The organization said it is “tracking this closely” and encouraged tenants, advocates, and organizers to visit its website for updated resources on eviction defense and policy advocacy related to the effects of the SNAP lapse.
Federal food-assistance and housing experts are already sounding alarms. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the USDA announced it would run out of funding for SNAP on Nov. 1, leaving roughly 42 million Americans — about one in eight — facing food insecurity. The USDA has said that its contingency fund is intended for natural disasters or shortfalls but cannot legally be used when Congress fails to appropriate new funds.
Child welfare and education advocates say the impact could ripple through schools and communities. Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families Commissioner Tikki Brown told The Imprint that “without regular access to food, our most vulnerable populations are impacted … Children, for example, will start behind in school — they’re distracted in school, and they’re much less ready to learn.”
Some states are attempting to fill the gap. In California, Governor Gavin Newsom announced up to $80 million in state funds and deployed National Guard members to a Los Angeles food bank to help sustain families affected by the lapse, but local officials warn such measures are not sustainable.
Housing advocates caution that a prolonged shutdown will also threaten federal housing-assistance programs. NHLP noted that, while most HUD programs can continue rent payments through November, they will become increasingly vulnerable as the shutdown persists.
The NHLP statement frames the SNAP lapse not only as a hunger crisis but as part of a broader assault on the government’s capacity to protect poor and working families.
Thrope said that “while tenants and homeowners might not immediately feel an impact, government shutdowns cause irreparable harm to federally-assisted housing programs and the families they serve. Shutdowns threaten the ability of our government to work with private landlords who help provide stable, affordable housing to people who need it.”
As Congress remains deadlocked, advocacy groups continue to push for urgent action to restore federal funding for food and housing programs.
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