Kimberly Thomas, a city staff member responsible for human-services briefings, told council on Oct. 28 that the state has created a Virginia Emergency Nutrition Assistance Program and allocated $150,000,000 in general‑fund money to close SNAP gaps while the federal shutdown continues. Thomas said the state program "will cover the, it will close the gap on the need for food and food insecurity with the 850,000 Virginia households who receive SNAP benefits on a monthly basis."

How the state plan will work: Thomas explained the state fund is separate from USDA funding and is guaranteed only through November 2025 at present. Rather than a single monthly distribution, the state intends to disburse 25% of a household's monthly SNAP allotment each week, with weekly load dates placed on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to correspond to the three typical distribution cohorts. Thomas warned the initial payment cadence could be delayed; staff said Monday, Nov. 3 was the target first-week loading date but the vendor integration might push the first payment to Nov. 10.

Local scale and immediate impact: Thomas and staff provided Newport News figures: roughly 34,000 SNAP participants — about 16,000 households — live in the city. Staff said the city distributes about $5,700,000 in SNAP benefits per month; a quarter of that amount would be delayed for households if the first weekly load is postponed. Thomas said other entitlement programs (TANF, WIC, child-care subsidies, Medicaid) remained funded through November 2025 but stressed the situation could change week to week.

Council's local relief ideas: city staff proposed a multi-pronged local response while the state and federal picture evolves:
- Direct food assistance: staff recommended immediate support to the Peninsula Food Bank and community food-distribution partners (Thrive, United Way). Staff discussed a proposed $150,000 contribution for local food-bank operations to increase supply and distribution in Newport News.
- Furlough relief: staff proposed a short-term emergency fund or interest‑free loans for furloughed federal employees, with an illustrative cap (staff discussed a possible $2,000 cap) and potential ARPA funding as a source.
- Community stability fund: staff sketched a broader, ongoing relief fund run with nonprofit partners to cover critical bills and stabilize households; figures under discussion included up to $1,000,000 as a possible ceiling for initial commitments.

Council direction and concerns: council members expressed support for prioritizing food distribution and local, easily accessed assistance. Several members favored working with Thrive as a neighborhood-facing hub rather than routing all funds through larger regional organizations. Council asked staff to return with concrete proposals, lines of accountability and implementation steps; several members cautioned that loan programs require further discussion.

What happens next: staff said they will bring specific proposals and implementation details back to council by email and in a future meeting, and they will publish a federal‑shutdown resource page on the city's website. The human-services day planned for Nov. 1 will be used to explain changes and help residents navigate resources if the state disbursement cadence is delayed.