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Ohio kicks in $25M for food assistance as the government shutdown drags on

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — Ohio will kick in to $25 million for food assistance to families whose benefits in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, might be affected by the federal government shutdown.

SNAP and EBT Accepted here sign.
[Jonathan Weiss | shutterstock.com]
Gov. Mike DeWine has signed an executive order directing the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to give $7 million to food banks. It also orders up to $18 million in emergency relief benefits, doubling the monthly benefit for more than 63,000 Ohioans, including over 57,000 children. The funds will go to those in the Ohio Works First program, which provides assistance for people at or below 50% of the federal poverty level who have children. But he notes the money won’t be a substitute for SNAP benefits.

“This is not a substitute for SNAP. Not every family is going to get additional funds. But we want to target specifically those families where we thought that they really desperately would need the money and need the help,” DeWine said.

The order also said that for November, they’ll receive a weekly benefit that equal to roughly a quarter of what they would get from SNAP as long as those benefits are still suspended. The money will come from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, which are federal funds allocated to the state.

“We have targeted those families with those 57,000 children with additional funds that they will they will get and they will get that every week as long as this list goes on,” DeWine told reporters Thursday afternoon. “This is not a substitute for SNAP. Not every family is going to get additional funds, but we want to target specifically those families where we thought that they really desperately would need the money and would need the help.”

In a statement joined by House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) and Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon), DeWine struck a more political tone.

“The easiest and best way to help Ohioans in need of food assistance is for U.S. Senate Democrats to end its filibuster of SNAP benefits and other important federal programs and approve the clean continuing resolution passed by the U.S. House,” said DeWine in the statement. “While it is no substitute for the relief Senate Democrats could provide today, this funding will help get more resources into the household budgets of the Ohio families who need it most.”

Approximately 1.4 million Ohioans receive a total of $264 million in food benefits from SNAP each month. The average monthly SNAP benefit per person is about $190. Funds for SNAP will be cut off at midnight tomorrow if the federal shutdown isn’t resolved before then.