Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture is putting together a plan to help food banks amid the government shutdown.
The announcement comes as roughly three million Floridians will only receive about half of their regular SNAP benefits this month as the USDA taps into reserve funds to keep the program afloat.
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson said his agency will tap into a $38 million program to help keep food banks fully stocked until the government reopens.
While he said the move should provide some help to the state’s food banks, it doesn’t come close to fully making up the $125 million in federal assistance he estimates the state’s residents will lose this month due to the shutdown.
“It’s a, you know, the two fish and a loaf of bread type of a deal on this large of a loss from the federal program,” Simpson said.
Florida House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell (D-Tampa) doubled down on her caucus’ call for the Governor to do more to provide direct assistance Monday morning.
“These are our neighbors, working families, kids, and the seniors who built the world we inherited, and they deserve the respect and dignity of knowing they will have food on the table,” said Driskell.
She and other Florida Democrats want the Governor to declare a state of emergency on hunger and use the state’s reserve funds to backfill lost federal benefits.
“Florida has the fiscal strength to help our families. What’s needed now is the moral will to act,” said Driskell.
When asked about that request, Governor Ron DeSantis argued the state shouldn’t be responsible for fixing a problem caused by the inability of Congress to fund the federal government.
He also questioned whether it would even be possible for the state to take something like that into action on such short notice.
“We wouldn’t be able to administer something, I mean, it would take a long time. So, the easiest solution to it, if this is something you’re concerned about, is that they should stop holding up the funding for the program,” DeSantis said.
Commissioner Simpson called on Floridians to engage their local food banks and make donations during this time of need.
“Please give. This is when they need the assistance. We’re gonna need the next, at least, hopefully only the next few weeks to get the government back open again,” Simpson said.
You can find a food bank near you and a link to donate here.
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