OKLAHOMA CITY –
State leaders agreed to allocate emergency money to help with food assistance during the government shutdown. The money comes from a state emergency fund, which currently holds close to $8 million.
On Monday, the Contingency Review board, led by Gov. Kevin Stitt, unanimously voted to fund $1 million per week to food banks across the state. According to the governor’s office, these funds will go out immediately following Monday’s meeting. Funding will go out every week for seven weeks or until the shutdown ends.
“This is a federal problem that Congress has got to fix,” said Stitt, during opening remarks at Monday’s meeting.
Oklahoma nonprofit Hunger Free Oklahoma said the state needs a “comprehensive government action to fund a solution that meets the scale of the problem.” So far, Stitt has refused to call for a special session for lawmakers to vote on additional funding.
“We’re gonna monitor that and I think over the next couple weeks, I think it will be clear if we need to do something like that,” Stitt said.
House Speaker Rep. Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, said distributing state funds onto SNAP cards is a complicated process and that the state lacks jurisdiction.
“Even if we wanted to today, we as a state cannot make those deposits onto the snap cards,” Hilbert said. “What this action does today, should the contingency review board approve it, it gives us options.”
Stitt said they are planning for the shutdown to continue. Stitt didn’t elaborate on what additional action the state could take in the coming weeks.
“We’re starting to think about December first as well,” Stitt said.
Senate Pro Tem, Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, said leaders should learn the reason more than 680,000 Oklahomans rely on federal food assistance. The state typically receives between $130 million and $140 million in SNAP assistance each month, according to state officials.
“We’re in the top four as far as, percentage-wise, number of citizens that are on the SNAP benefits,” Paxton said. “It’s made me kinda question why.”
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it will use its own contingency fund to issue half the allotted benefits to SNAP recipients. It’s not clear when that money will make it to people’s accounts. A reminder, for those who need help, local resources can be found at beaneighbor.org.
