A volunteer reaches for lemons at the food pantry run by Good Neighbors Community Kitchen and Food Pantry in East Providence, Rhode Island, on Oct. 22, 2025. (Photo by Michael Salerno/Rhode Island Current)
Louisiana residents who rely on the largest public food assistance program won’t get those benefits next month if the federal government shutdown continues, Gov. Jeff Landry said Wednesday in a news release.
More than 800,000 people in Louisiana receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program as of this summer, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture figures. The agency has $6 billion in an emergency fund, leaving it about $3 billion short to cover the monthly cost of providing SNAP nationwide.
Landry, a Republican, called on Democratic leaders in Congress to end the shutdown, which started Oct. 1. Democrats have held firm on insisting GOP lawmakers extend tax credits that help some 22 million people pay for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Senate Republicans have refused to return until Democrats agree to advance a stopgap spending bill.
“The U.S. House under Speaker Mike Johnson has already acted to re-open the government. Our U.S. Senators representing Louisiana have voted over and over again to re-open the government. They are doing their part,” Landry said in his statement. “Now it is time for those U.S. Senators, under Democrat Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, to vote yes and re-open the federal government.”
The Louisiana Department of Health, which administers the state’s SNAP program, will begin notifying recipients this week that November benefits will not be added to their cards until the federal government reopens, according to the governor’s office. The state has also made placards for retailers that accept SNAP payments to display explaining to cardholders there will be no benefits added in November until the shutdown ends.
Pat Van Leo, executive director of Feeding Louisiana, said the governor’s announcement is “deeply concerning” for his organization. The five regional food banks in Louisiana it represents are pursuing emergency resources, including “potential state bridge funding,” to cover any gaps in SNAP benefits, he said.
“It will take all of us — lawmakers, businesses, faith and community organizations, and individuals — to ensure every family can eat,” Van Leo said in an email.
U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, was in the New Orleans area Wednesday and joined the staff at Second Harvest Food Bank to fill food packages for those in need, which he noted includes federal workers who’ve been furloughed during the shutdown..
“Taking away SNAP benefits from Louisiana families during the month of Thanksgiving is cruel,” Carter said in an email. “Yet our counterparts refuse to come to work and do their jobs to work with Democrats and keep the government open.”
