With the government shutdown stretching on for an unprecedented 24 days, the U.S Department of Agriculture has asked Texas and other states to issue February food stamps early.
Texans in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – more commonly, food stamps – will now have benefits automatically loaded onto their Lone Star cards by Jan. 20, according to a report from Houston’s ABC-13 news.
The sped-up delivery schedule will affect all 3.5 million Texas who receive food aid through the program.
“We need to process January recertification paperwork by January 15,” said Matthew Wallen, director of the Division of Children and Family Services, which administers SNAP. “We are shifting personnel, authorizing overtime and working this Saturday and Sunday to process both recertifications and new applications to make sure recipients get their February benefits.”
Texas Health and Human Services has added information to its website answering questions about how the shutdown affects benefits.
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This article appears in Jan 2-15, 2019.
