City briefs council on Virginia plan to backfill SNAP benefits if federal payments stop
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Summary
Alexandria staff outlined the state's proposed Virginia Emergency Nutrition Assistance (VENA) program that would deliver equivalent benefits via existing EBT cards beginning Nov. 3 if a federal shutdown persists. The city said it will coordinate outreach and limited food distributions for affected households.
The City of Alexandria's Department of Community and Human Services told council on Oct. 28 that Virginia plans to operate a parallel program to SNAP — the Virginia Emergency Nutrition Assistance Program, or VENA — if federal SNAP payments stop.
Kate Garvey, director of the Department of Community and Human Services, said the state declared a state of emergency that enables an alternative benefit distribution. Under the state plan, the benefits would be loaded on beneficiaries' existing EBT electronic benefit-transfer cards but delivered weekly rather than as a monthly lump sum. Staff said the state intends to begin VENA on Monday, Nov. 3 if the federal shutdown continues; benefits would be distributed in thirds across multiple days roughly paralleling the first week of the month.
Garvey told council that the transition to a weekly distribution will delay some recipients by about two days and that the Commonwealth had put $1 million into the food-bank network to help households during the transition. She said the city has about 5,688 SNAP households (about 11,700 individuals) and that local agencies and nonprofits are coordinating pop-up food distributions for those who might be affected, as well as targeted outreach for applications submitted after Oct. 29 who may not receive immediate benefits.
Councilmembers asked about outreach logistics and translation of state materials; staff said Virginia Department of Social Services would distribute standard messaging to localities, and the city planned to use its websites, social media, 311 call center and nonprofit partners to communicate updates. Garvey said the city expected to receive state-provided communication tools and would share them with council once available.