BISMARCK, N.D. (KFGO) – Gov. Kelly Armstrong announced Thursday he’s directed more than $1.5 million in state funds to support food assistance programs during the federal government shutdown. Armstrong also urged North Dakota residents to consider donating food or money to local food pantries to help those losing federal food assistance.
“The state of North Dakota has the responsibility and the resources to care for its citizens who face a sudden loss of federal food assistance through no fault of their own,” Armstrong said. “Through a combination of state contingency funds and private donations, North Dakota can help meet the nutritional needs of our children and families until Congress passes a temporary funding bill to reopen the federal government.”
Armstrong directed the state Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide $915,000 in contingency funds to the Great Plains Food Bank, which supplies food and supports a network of nearly 200 partner food pantries, shelters and soup kitchens across the state.
The $915,000 in state funds will allow the Great Plains Food Bank to purchase and distribute an additional 450,000 pounds of food in November, enough to assist approximately 24,000 households, said Kate Molbert, interim CEO and chief operating officer of Great Plains Food Bank.
Additionally, Armstrong directed HHS to use contingency funds to support the Women, Infants & Children (WIC) program through the month of November, at an estimated cost of roughly $600,000. WIC protects the health of low-income women, infants and children up to age 5 by providing supplemental foods, nutrition education and health care referrals. Federal WIC funding for North Dakota is expected to run out around Nov. 10.
More than 56,000 North Dakotans are at risk of losing their federal SNAP benefits on November 1 when federal funding runs out. Current SNAP payments to eligible households in North Dakota total about $10 million per month.
Due to a lack of access to the program infrastructure, the state is unable to use state funding to backfill SNAP benefits. SNAP recipients with remaining balances after Oct. 31 will be able to use the benefits in November.
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