Thousands of Nebraskans are expected to lose SNAP benefits this week

A total of 41 million Americans are expected to lose their SNAP benefits at the end of the month due to the ongoing federal government shutdown. In Nebraska, SNAP benefits will be paused starting Wednesday.

“While November SNAP benefit issuances may be delayed, DHHS staff remain ready to assist Nebraskans by accepting and processing applications, recertifications, and reported changes,” Director of the Office of Economic Assistance at Nebraska’s Department of Health and Human Services, Shannon Grotrian, said in a press release.

According to the USDA, there are an estimated 74,727 Nebraska households participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. According to the same data, the total number of Nebraskans participating is 150,600.

The Health Director at the Douglas County Health Department, Dr. Lindsay Huse, said that the estimate within Douglas county is around 58,000 people who receive SNAP benefits.

“We are currently putting together a webpage that will be accessible through our website that will list places like food pantries and congregate feeding settings so that people who lose their SNAP benefits and are in need of assistance can know where they can go to get that assistance,” said Huse. “There are quite a few places in the Douglas County area that do provide some kind of food assistance, and so we want to make sure that everyone knows who that is and where that is and where they can get that help.”

Across the state, in Nebraska’s Panhandle, the concerns are quite similar. According to the Panhandle Public Health District, 3,600 households are going to lose their SNAP benefits come Nov. 1. Jessica Davies, the health director for PPHD, said that amounts to about 10% of households within the counties they cover.

“We certainly recommend that people begin planning what resources are in their area, which we have a complete list we've been updating as quickly as we can for every community, every county, as far as access in the panhandle,” Davies said. "That includes local food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency food providers … While this situation is uncertain, we know that even small acts of kindness, whether donating, volunteering or simply checking in on a neighbor, can go a long way in helping one another through challenging times.”

Huse also recommended something similar.

“I think this is a good time to call on the community to think about their neighbors and to reach out to their local food pantry or food assistance agency and see what their needs are,” Huse said.

Davies said PPHD have been in close contact with Community Action Partnership of Western Nebraska, coordinating locations where people can access food assistance. Betsy Vidlak is the CEO of Community Action Partnership of Western Nebraska, a non-profit that serves low-income, disadvantaged, and those unable to meet their needs through other sources. She said they have seen a large increase in people seeking appointments with them.

“Just within the last 24 hours, we've had 30 people that we've had to turn away, which is a large number for us. We usually have a few a day sometimes,” Vidlak said. “So what we're planning to do, what we've been working on today and this afternoon, is increasing our capacity to see these folks.”

She said their plan is to begin pulling additional staff from other departments to help accommodate the larger influx of people seeking assistance.

“I think what we're seeing, or we're expecting to see here is just kind of an unprecedented amount of people who don't have access, so not folks that just you know are running tight, which a lot of times what we see, but folks who have lost their entire, you know, access to food funds,” said Vidlak.

In the panhandle, United Way of Nebraska announced it is ramping up its efforts to provide direct food resources, while in the Omaha area, Mayor John Ewing Jr. plans to announce a city-led food drive to address the pause in food assistance.