Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding speaks at a press conference Friday at the Philabundance food bank warehouse in South Philadelphia, where Gov. Josh Shapiro announced $5 million in emergency funding to lend a hand food charities because federal SNAP recipients will not receive November aid payments. (Photo: Commonwealth Media Services)
After two federal judges ordered the Trump administration to make food aid funds available, Gov. Josh Shapiro announced Friday that the state would make $5 million available to a network of food banks across the commonwealth.
Shapiro also signed a disaster declaration to ensure state money would be immediately available because 2 million Pennsylvanians who rely on the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) missed their November allocations. They usually received their pay on Saturday.
“They made this decision even though they have billions of dollars in emergency funds appropriated by Congress,” Shapiro said at a news conference at the Philabundance food bank warehouse in South Philadelphia.
SNAP provides $366 million in food assistance per month, serving about one in eight Pennsylvanians, or about 15% of the state’s population.
Lori Jones-Brown, CEO of Philabundance, the largest nonprofit food bank in the Philadelphia area, said pantries across the region are already tapping reserves to meet the increased demand.
“Recently, one of my colleagues told me that a mother with four children in a car came into our North Philly warehouse asking for help,” Jones-Brown said. “You see scared faces and longer lines at food pantries, and this is happening at a time when numbers were already at record highs.”
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The $5 million in state funding will flow through Feeding Pennsylvania, a statewide association of the Commonwealth’s nine food banks that serve more than 1.5 million people annually across all 67 counties.
Additionally, Shapiro said he has launched a private sector fundraising effort to lend a hand food banks through the SNAP Emergency Relief Fund, which has already raised more than $1 million from Pennsylvania business leaders.
Shapiro noted the community is part of the coalition of 24 Democratic states that sued the Trump administration this week, asking the court to issue a ruling ordering the U.S. Department of Agriculture to continue food assistance to 42 million people across the country.
Shapiro said that while the ruling is an crucial victory, the commonwealth still faces a potential crisis in feeding its most vulnerable populations. He added that the administration would take up to 10 days to get the money into SNAP recipients’ accounts, and that would happen if President Donald Trump complied with the court’s dual orders.
“Given this administration and its tendency to ignore the rule of law, I do not trust it will follow this judge’s ruling,” Shapiro said.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration also canceled $13 million in USDA funds over three years to purchase locally grown food for food banks in the commonwealth. The state is also filing a lawsuit to enforce its contract with the USDA.
“President Trump is not only harming people who are hungry, but also harming Pennsylvania farmers, and this is on top of what he has already done to them with his unreasonable tariffs,” Shapiro said. “I think right now we should be doing everything we can to feed Pennsylvanians and not making excuses why it can’t happen.”
House Speaker Joanna McClinton (Philadelphia) said Shapiro’s actions demonstrated leadership and a responsible resolution of the crisis, which she attributed to Republicans in Congress.
“While this solution is temporary, we can do more to ensure fewer Pennsylvanians rely on programs like SNAP by increasing the minimum wage and investing in our schools and job training programs to ensure everyone has a path to success,” McClinton said in a statement Friday.
Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa (D-Allegheny) and Health and Human Services Committee Chairman Art Haywood (D-Montgomery) said in a statement that the loss of SNAP payments would be an extraordinary burden on food charities.
“My colleagues and I are receiving a lot of calls from concerned voters who fear they will not be able to stock their pantries and refrigerators because of a callous decision by the president and those in the federal government,” Costa said.
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SNAP, historically known as food stamps, allows low-income families and individuals to buy food at local markets. For many, SNAP benefits were enough to put food on the table, said Julie Bancroft, CEO of Feeding Pennsylvania. The organization will provide $5 million in emergency state funding to its statewide network of food banks.
“Where will they turn? They will turn to banks and food pantries, many of them for the first time, because SNAP benefits have been enough to make ends meet,” Bancroft said, noting that the surge in people seeking food assistance is exacerbated by the federal government shutdown, during which most federal workers are not receiving pay.
“Our network uses cash reserves to stock shelves, but these resources are limited and will run out, making emergency funding crucial. The funding announced today will help ease pressure in times of crisis,” Bancroft said.
