Maine Legislators call on Trump Administration to release emergency SNAP funds
Letter led by Sen. Henry Ingwersen urges administration to help nearly 170,000 Mainers access food assistance
AUGUSTA — Today, in a letter led by Sen. Henry Ingwersen, D-Arundel, 81 lawmakers in the Maine Legislature urged U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins to release contingency funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Last week, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced that, due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, it would be unable to issue November benefits to 169,812 Mainers who receive SNAP benefits.
“Maine has the highest rate of food insecurity for children in New England, and every Mainer should have enough food to get through the day,” said Sen. Ingwersen and legislators in the letter. “Some of us may take a good meal for granted, but thousands of Mainers certainly do not.”
The Trump Administration has indicated it will not use this emergency funding, underscoring the urgency of Maine legislators’ appeal.
Last week, a coalition of Maine organizations and advocates who work to combat food insecurity also called for the release of SNAP contingency funding.
Maine DHHS has said that it will continue to process SNAP applications and renewals during the shutdown, but has not received the federal funding necessary to issue benefits.
Today’s letter was signed by 18 state senators and 63 state representatives, including Senate President Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick; Speaker of the House Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford; and the majority and assistant majority leaders in the Senate and House.