OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – On Monday, the Trump administration told a federal judge that partial payments for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would be distributed. However, the following day, President Trump wrote on social media that the funds would not be released until the government shutdown ends.
This back-and-forth has many people on edge. Nonprofits are doing what they can, but demand for assistance has increased.
Reverend Mary Downey, founder and CEO of Hope Partnership in Osceola County, says funding cuts combined with the government shutdown have created uncertainty for many.
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“What a lot of people don’t understand is that the government shutdown affects a lot of our funding, not just SNAP benefits; HUD funding is currently in jeopardy as well. We don’t know when the government is going to open back up. And so that means that we don’t know what’s next when it comes to how we’re going to do a lot of our services,” Downey said.
[WATCH: Trump administration says SNAP will be partially funded after judges’ rulings]
The addition of SNAP benefit delays has led to increased calls for help.
“We’re getting a lot of people calling just to ask, like, do you know if our benefits are going to be paid?” Downey added. “And really, the answer that we have for them right now is we’re really unsure. We don’t know what the future holds, unfortunately.”
In Osceola County, 24,000 people receive SNAP benefits. They were set to receive half of their benefits after the Trump administration agreed to tap into its contingency fund, but that may no longer happen.
On Tuesday, President Trump wrote on Truth Social that SNAP benefits “will be given only when the radical left Democrats open up the government, which they can easily do, and not before!”
“It really is a lot of uncertainty because we don’t know when the government is going to open back up,” Downey said. “People are calling us, asking us, are we going to get our rents paid if we’re in some kind of housing voucher program, are we going to be able to provide for our family, or are we going to get our SNAP benefits?”
[WATCH: ‘It’s unfair:’ SNAP cuts leave Central Florida seniors struggling for food]
While it remains unclear if the federal government will release any funds, Osceola County is preparing to help. On Monday, county commissioners voted to set aside $1 million to support food pantries. The money will be distributed as needed if the shutdown continues.
“I was thinking about this, this made me lose sleep the whole weekend, of these individuals that rely on SNAP benefits possibly going hungry,” Osceola County Board of County Commissioners Chairwoman Viviana Janer said during the meeting.
Downey calls the help from the county crucial in their continued effort.
“So, we are very, very happy to know that our community is listening. Our community leaders, our elected leaders are paying attention to what’s happening, and they’re not abandoning us in this moment of need. They’re not abandoning their constituents,” she said.
“I heard one of [Chairwoman Janer] say that she couldn’t sleep all weekend, and that’s pretty much how the rest of us felt as well, as we just didn’t know what Monday was going to bring. The reality is, we don’t know what the next 15 days are going to bring. We don’t know when the next anything is. The uncertainty is really difficult,” Downey said.