More than 31,000 McLennan County residents lost access to food assistance benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, on Saturday amid the ongoing federal government shutdown.
President Trump announced Monday that those benefits will resume for November — but at only half the usual amount. It’s still unclear when recipients will see that money return to their accounts.
The delay and reduction have left local food banks struggling to meet the growing demand.
Roger Martinez was one of the last people to receive food from Waco’s Caritas food bank Monday afternoon. He and his wife rely on SNAP for their monthly groceries.
“We don’t have no food in our home ," Martinez said. "I just paid my rent, so no money,” Martinez said.
He does his best to stretch each month’s benefits as far as possible.
“I make my own food at home. I make my own tostadas, my own tacos, my own burritos because it’s a lot cheaper,” he said.
When his benefits didn’t load onto his EBT card as expected this weekend, Martinez walked to Caritas to ask for help.
“They tried to tell me they didn’t want to take no more, and I said, ‘Ma’am, I need food,’” he said.
Caritas holds morning and afternoon food distributions each weekday, and staff try to make sure every person leaves with a basket of groceries. But sometimes, they have to turn people away.
“We try to give as much as we can here to help,” said Janie Ramon, the program director at Caritas.
Ramon said the nonprofit typically sees 200 to 250 people a day for food distributions. Caritas operates a client-choice pantry, meaning visitors can choose the items they want. The pantry is stocked with shelf staples like rice and beans plus fresh produce, eggs, meat and milk when available.
“Thank goodness there’s never an empty basket coming out,” Ramon said.
In recent months, she said, Caritas has seen an increase in new clients. She expects demand to accelerate as SNAP benefits remain uncertain.
In Waco, the average household receives about $350 a month in SNAP benefits. The Trump administration’s announcement that November benefits will be paid at a reduced rate — with no clear timeline for when they’ll arrive — leaves many families relying on local food charities to fill the gap.
“The gap between the meals provided by SNAP and the meals that the food bank and our partners can provide is not sustainable,” said Beth Corbett, vice president for government affairs and advocacy at the Central Texas Food Bank, which supplies much of the food distributed through local pantries.
Corbett said the Central Texas Food Bank spent an additional $1 million to stock pantries with shelf-stable items ahead of the SNAP cutoff last weekend.
“We will continue to provide food and services as long as they’re needed,” she said.
Still, Corbett said, food banks across Central Texas are preparing for even greater demand if the shutdown continues.
Got a tip? Email Molly-Jo Tilton at Molly-jo_tilton@baylor.edu.
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