Nearly 1.5 million people in Ohio could be affected if SNAP benefits don’t go out on Nov. 1 because of the government shutdown, which is one of the longest ever.
Can the government legally withhold SNAP benefits during a shutdown? Here’s what we know.
Is it legal for the government to withhold SNAP benefits from recipients?
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities President Sharon Parrott, a former Office of Management and Budget (OMB) official, the government has reserve funding to pay SNAP benefits during the government shutdown but may choose not to use them.
The fund has approximately $5 billion, roughly half of the $9 billion to fund SNAP for all of November, according to Politico reporting.
One in eight Americans uses SNAP to assist their grocery bills.
Will SNAP beneficiaries receive their checks in November?
Even in a government shutdown, the presidential administration must continue distributing SNAP payments to households in November, according to the CBPP.
In addition to the $5 billion in reserve funds, the government has the tools and authority to allocate additional money to fund SNAP in November.
What is SNAP?
The SNAP program provides food assistance to eligible low-income families with a household gross monthly income at or below 130% of the federal poverty guidelines.
How many Ohioans get SNAP benefits?
As of May 2025, 1.45 million Ohioans received SNAP benefits each month, according to state-level data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That represents a 3.5% increase from May 2024, when 1.40 million Ohioans received SNAP benefits, and an increase from 1.44 million recipients in April 2025.
According to USDA data, 1.42 million people in Ohio received SNAP benefits in 2022. Nearly 740,000 Ohio households received SNAP benefits in 2022, according to the USDA, and 79% of Ohio households receiving SNAP benefits had income at or below the poverty line, according to the USDA.
Ohio SNAP benefits key statistics
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities collected SNAP data in 2024. Here’s what it found:
What is the average monthly SNAP benefit per person in Ohio?
In May 2025, the USDA paid $269.9 million in SNAP benefits for Ohio recipients. The average benefit amount was $186.02, an increase from $159 per person in 2022, according to USDA figures.
The 2022 USDA data shows that every $1 of SNAP benefits can lead to a $1.54 increase in gross domestic product.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: SNAP can be funded despite government shutdown. Here’s what to know, Ohio SNAP data
Reporting by Mariyam Muhammad, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
