As of Nov. 1, SNAP payments in Florida and the rest of the country will stop if the federal government shutdown continues. 42 million Americans, including 2.94 million in Florida, will lose their food assistance benefits as federal funding for the program runs out.
Funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC, may also run out in days, even with a recent emergency cash infusion earlier this month. Like SNAP, WIC also receives funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) but through different monies and processes.
The National WIC Association (NWA) said that emergency funding was only enough to keep the program going through Oct. 31.
What about school lunches? The Child and Adult Care Feeding Program?
The USDA initially said in its contingency plan that mentioned a reserve of contingency funds for such interruptions but President Donald Trump’s administration has said that reserves aren’t enough and won’t be tapped to fund November benefits. Attorneys general and governors from 25 Democrat-led states have sued the USDA to force SNAP funding.
All 43 Democrats in the Florida Legislature have called on Gov. Ron DeSantis to declare a state of emergency and use state money to cover Floridian SNAP benefits, pointing at his requent use of emergency powers to fund immigration enforcement. The USDA has also said that states that choose to cover SNAP funds will not be reimbursed.
What food assistance programs are available in Florida, and how will the shutdown affect them?
What is SNAP, the former food stamp program?
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a federal program that provides assistance to low-income seniors, people with disabilities living on fixed incomes, and other individuals and families with low incomes to help them buy nutritious food.
It grew out of the nearly century-old national food stamp program and was renamed in the 2008 farm bill. SNAP is part of the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.
What is WIC?
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is a federally funded nutrition program that provides food, education and counseling to nearly 7 million at-risk pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding individuals, as well as infants and children up to 5 years old.
To qualify, recipients must have a household income up to 185% of the federal poverty guidelines or demonstrate participation in other programs, including SNAP, Medicaid or TANF. Applicants must be at “nutritional risk” as determined by a health professional.
In a USDA contingency plan dated Sept. 30 that has since been taken off the agency’s website, WIC continues during a shutdown as long as funds are available. However, WIC is not designated as “mandatory fiunding” the way Social Security and other benefits are, which means funding for the program is subject to regular congressional allocation and approval. A federal shutdown may disrupt that.
How many people get WIC?
According to the USDA, WIC served about 6.7 million participants each month in fiscal year 2024, including an estimated 41% of all infants in the United States.
In May 2025, 428,605 Floridians received WIC benefits. Florida had the fourth-highest number of WIC participants in the country behind California, Texas and New York, according to USDA data.
Can tariffs fund WIC?
Earlier this month, the White House issued $300 million in unspent tariff revenue and leftover funding from other programs that temporarily kept the program running. In an Oct. 14 statement, the USDA told USA TODAY that it would continue to utilize tariff revenue to fund WIC “for the foreseeable future.”
It’s unclear how much funding is available through tariff revenue and how it will sustain the program.
The legality of the tariffs at large is also being challenged in court, with the Supreme Court slated to hear arguments on Nov. 5. The USDA did not immediately respond to a question about plans for future funding depending on the outcome of the case on Oct. 28.
What happens if WIC funding runs out?
People may begin losing access to WIC benefits on Nov. 1, according to the the National WIC Association.
“Without additional funding, State WIC Agencies may be forced to take drastic measures that prevent families from accessing the services they need, such as halting food benefits. This would directly jeopardize the health and nutrition of millions of mothers, babies, and young children,” NWA CEO Georgia Machell said in an Oct. 21 statement. Some states may need to furlough clinic staff. the NWA and 40 co-signing organizations said in a letter to the White House on Oct. 24.
If WIC funding starts to run out, benefits would be prioritized for people with the greatest need. The program’s priority levels are:
What other food assistance programs are being affected? What about TEFAP? School lunches?
How long will the government shutdown last?
Until Congress approves a funding appropriations bill and Trump signs it, however long that takes.
There have been 21 shutdowns since 1977, with an average of eight days each. The longest government shutdown was 35 days during Trump’s first term, from Dec. 22, 2018 to Jan. 25, 2019.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Is WIC part of SNAP? Food benefits may end, here’s what Floridians need to know
Reporting by C. A. Bridges, Mary Walrath-Holdridge and Melina Khan, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
