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Federal food assistance ended Saturday for nearly one in 10 households in Baxter County as the government shutdown cut off Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits statewide.
Roughly 240,000 Arkansans, including thousands in Baxter, Marion and Fulton counties, lost access to benefits that helped them buy groceries each month.
The U.S. Senate has voted 13 times on a U.S. House-passed resolution to fund the government until Nov. 21. There have been 55 votes in favor of funding the government, five short of the 60 needed to move the bill forward due to the Senate’s filibuster rule. Democrats are withholding their votes for government funding in an attempt to get Republicans to negotiate on extending Affordable Care Act tax credits that are set to expire at the end of the year.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced Friday that the state will distribute $500,000 among six regional food bank networks. That amount represents a fraction of the more than $41 million in monthly SNAP benefits Arkansas typically receives from the federal government.
Jeff Quick, CEO of the Food Bank of North Central Arkansas in Mountain Home, told KATV last week that he asked local food pantries in his network to consider extending their hours, including after work hours or on weekends. The food bank also plans to increase mobile food pantry operations.
Food banks cannot replace SNAP. The federal program provides nine times more food assistance than all Arkansas food banks combined, according to the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance.
“The charitable sector cannot fill that gap,” Brian Burton, CEO of Arkansas Foodbank, said at a news conference last week, according to KATV. “We are pleading that all of our leaders and decision makers come to some resolution.”
The shutdown, now entering its fifth week, has cut off benefits that many rural communities depend on. Statewide, 2,700 retailers can no longer process SNAP transactions as of Saturday. Quick noted during a Friday news conference that grocery stores in high-poverty areas like north central Arkansas rely significantly on SNAP purchases for their business.
State Rep. Stetson Painter, whose District 3 includes portions of Baxter and Fulton counties, said last week that he and colleagues in the Arkansas Legislature are pressuring their counterparts in Washington to end the shutdown.
“Conversations with my colleagues and the governor’s office are ongoing to find funding solutions,” Painter told KTLO.
President Donald Trump called Thursday night for the U.S. Senate to scrap the filibuster so that the Republican majority can bypass Democrats and reopen the federal government. U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune rejected that call, with a spokesperson telling ABC News Friday that his position against eliminating the Senate filibuster has not changed.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told reporters that the USDA has a contingency fund but it does not cover “even a half” of the $9.2 billion required for SNAP benefits and claimed it is “only allowed to flow if the underlying program is funded.”
Arkansas has the nation’s highest rate of food insecurity, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture reports from 2023 and 2024. One in four Arkansas children and one in five adults face food insecurity.
The Arkansas Department of Human Services warned SNAP recipients last week that the shutdown would prevent November benefits from being issued. The agency noted that EBT cards remain functional, allowing recipients to use any remaining benefits from previous months, though no new benefits were loaded Saturday.
DHS Secretary Janet Mann urged Arkansans to help each other through the crisis.
“SNAP is a critical program that helps ensure families all across our state have access to nutritious foods, and even a brief disruption is problematic,” Mann said in a statement last week. “Please check on friends, family, and neighbors and donate time or money to food banks if you are able.”
Mayor Jaylen Smith of Earle sent a letter to Sanders last week requesting a statewide disaster proclamation to unlock emergency resources and state funds.
“More than 240,000 Arkansans will be without SNAP benefits and approximately 150,000 kids will be without it as well,” Smith told WREG.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson has not called the House back into session in over a month. He reiterated Friday that Democratic senators needed to come and pass the clean continuing resolution bill.
Sanders blamed Senate Democrats for the impasse.
“What Senate Democrats are doing is unconscionable, playing political games with the food assistance that nearly a quarter million Arkansans rely on,” Sanders said in a written statement Friday.
Democrats have proposed restoring health care for “lawfully present” immigrants, but not for immigrants living in the country illegally, who are prohibited by law from receiving federally funded coverage.
The six food banks receiving state funds are:
- Arkansas Foodbank (Little Rock)
- Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas (Jonesboro)
- Harvest Regional Food Bank (Texarkana)
- Food Bank of North Central Arkansas (Mountain Home)
- Northwest Arkansas Food Bank (Bethel Heights)
- River Valley Regional Food Bank (Fort Smith)
The Food Bank of North Central Arkansas is located at 1042 Highland Circle in Mountain Home. For more information, call 870-499-7565 or visit foodbanknca.org. Arkansans seeking food assistance resources can visit HelpArkansas.com.
The department advises SNAP recipients to:
- Identify local food pantries, churches and community organizations for temporary assistance
- Use any remaining benefits from previous months while EBT cards remain functional
- Check eligibility for other food programs such as WIC
- Continue submitting required paperwork despite potential processing delays
