A cut in federal food assistance has forced low-income Oregonians to turn more frequently to food banks for help. An Oregon Food Bank employee stocks up on food at its warehouse in northeast Portland. (Photo courtesy of the Oregon Food Bank)
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek on Wednesday declared a state of emergency over hunger and directed $5 million to food banks across the state, seeking to avert the impending November loss of food stamp benefits for hundreds of thousands of Oregonians under the federal government’s ongoing shutdown.
Kotek’s emergency declaration gives authority to the Oregon Department of Emergency Management to coordinate with local governments, nonprofit organizations and private companies to “respond and mitigate the impacts of this emergency.” It calls for “essential protective measures” from the Oregon Department of Human Services to address food insecurity, while directing the agency to provide financial assistance to those facing hunger due to the loss of SNAP benefits. The order lasts until the end of the year, unless the federal government distributes benefits or Kotek changes its terms herself.
“It’s unacceptable that families are being used as leverage in a political standoff in Washington, D.C.,” Kotek said in a statement. “While the Republican-controlled Congress fails to do its job, Oregon will do ours. We stand up for each other, whether it’s fires, floods or any other crisis. I call on all Oregonians to do what they can to help their neighbors.”
About one in six Oregonians, the majority of whom are children, disabled or seniors, rely on SNAP for food assistance. Kotek’s declaration comes one day after the federal government shutdown hit its four-week mark, and follows Kotek urging the U.S Department of Agriculture on Monday to release emergency contingency funds that would allow SNAP benefits to remain during the shutdown and Oregon and other states suing the Trump administration on Tuesday to force the release of those funds. The federal agency has declined to do so, despite warnings from Oregon officials earlier this month that benefits would be running out by the end of October.
Food banks across Oregon, meanwhile, have warned that they do not have enough resources to absorb the impact of the loss of food stamp benefits. In her Wednesday order, Kotek drew upon $5 million from federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds to support the state’s network of food banks. That money is unspent from previous years and “can support short term crisis benefits without creating new ongoing requirements, which is ideal for this emergency,” the governor’s office said.
The ongoing federal government shutdown has pitted federal lawmakers on both sides of the aisle against each other, with Democrats refusing to back off their demands to restore subsidies for states under the Affordable Care Act that were rolled back under the GOP’s tax and spending law.
And in Oregon, state Sen. Christine Drazan, a Canby Republican who launched her campaign for governor against Kotek this week, criticized Kotek before her Wednesday order for not moving quickly to provide assistance. She highlighted a Washington plan announced Wednesday which orders the disbursement of $2.2 million in state funds each week to food banks across the state.
“If Washington State can step up to protect its residents, why can’t Oregon?” Drazan said in a statement. “Families can’t wait for the Governor to play catch up. We need leadership and action now.”
The average SNAP payment to an individual is $6 a day, according to research from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
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