Courtesy of Kentucky Lantern
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency Friday and directed $5 million from the state’s budget reserve trust fund to food banks that are part of the Feeding Kentucky network.
This came on the same day a federal judge ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s decision to halt funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) during the government shutdown is illegal. The Massachusetts judge gave the Trump administration until Monday to respond. SNAP benefits are set to run out Saturday.
Beshear’s order is “to ensure Kentuckians have access to food over the next few days,” his office said. About 563,080 people in Kentucky rely on SNAP to afford groceries.
Beshear’s executive order instructs the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management to work with the Office of the State Budget Director to “identify, allocate, and transfer funds as necessary from available sources to support the food banks during the lapse of SNAP funding,” beginning with the $5 million. The Cabinet for Health and Family Services will then provide the identified funds to Feeding Kentucky.
The budget reserve trust fund, also known as the “rainy day” fund, contains $3.7 billion. SNAP benefits in Kentucky total about $110 million a month.
Feeding Kentucky has seven food banks around the commonwealth. They will use the funds to buy and distribute extra food during the state of emergency, according to the executive order.
The Lantern has asked Feeding Kentucky for comment.
A federal judge in Rhode Island also ordered the Trump administration to fund SNAP. But even with the court orders, there could be delays in benefits. The USDA has not said how it will respond to the judges’ orders.
Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
