Governor Tina Kotek announced she will send $5 million in state money to Oregon food banks to soften the blow of SNAP delays.
According to the Oregonian, Kotek joins the governors of at least 12 other states in diverting millions in state money to backfill the lost federal funding to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, starting Saturday.
Kotek said she has directed the Oregon Department of Human Services to send $5 million in unspent money that was designated in past years for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families to Oregon’s network of food banks.
The governor also made a 60-day “emergency declaration,” which will allow the Oregon Department of Emergency Management to respond. That will also mean that, when the shutdown ends, the state “will be best positioned to turn SNAP benefits back on as swiftly as possible,” according to Kotek’s office.
In Oregon, SNAP money helps some of the most vulnerable residents put food on the table. About 210,000 are children, and 130,000 are ages 65 and older.
