As we enter November and start thinking about filling tables and plates for the holidays, a program that affects millions of Americans’ access to food is set to pause. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP and formerly known as food stamps, will be halted on November 1st due to the federal government shutdown. 

SNAP is a federal government program that provides food-purchasing assistance for low- and no-income persons to help them maintain adequate nutrition and health. There are 262,000 Iowans in the program, including 100,000 children. 

Iowa Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) recently introduced the Keep SNAP Funded Act of 2025. This legislation aims to ensure uninterrupted benefits for Americans who rely on the SNAP for nutrition during a government shutdown. The bill would appropriate the necessary funds for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to continue issuing SNAP benefits during any lapse in appropriations, ensuring that no eligible recipient faces disruption. It is unknown if the bill will be able to get a vote amid the government shutdown before November 1st when the program is set to be paused. 

U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) shared his response to the pause in the SNAP program, “Forty-two million people are on food stamps, aren’t going to get food stamps. That may put pressure on the Democrats to do something, but right now I don’t see an end to it, (the shutdown).” And when asked if he would vote to keep the program funded during the shutdown, “I think that, the extent to which that’s a scheme used by the Democrats, to avoid a problem that they created. I don’t think I would help them with it because I would want it to be stronger so that all the government be opened up, not just the food stamp program.”

The federal government shutdown began on October 1st. Those looking for food resources locally can contact HACAP.