City and county officials and nonprofit leaders warned at a news conference that if the federal government shutdown continues, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits will not be issued beginning Nov. 1 and that local agencies are stepping in to provide emergency food assistance.

Travis County Judge Andy Brown said the halt will affect about 44,895 households — more than 87,000 people — in Travis County and that nearly 13,000 federal employees who work in Austin had already missed at least one paycheck. "For many of our residents, that's not some abstract number or policy issue. That's food on the table or not having food on the table," Brown said.

The announcements came as officials described immediate relief steps. Travis County has waived a policy that limited residents to one visit to county community-center food pantries every 30 days so affected families may access pantry supplies as often as needed during the shutdown. The Central Texas Food Bank said it will stand up 50 distribution events across its 21-county service area during November and has deployed financial reserves and monthly purchases to expand capacity.

"Although the government is shut down, our doors are open," Sari Vatsky, president and CEO of the Central Texas Food Bank, said. Vatsky said the food bank already serves 610,000 food-insecure individuals across 21 counties and expects that about 207,000 people will lose roughly $44,000,000 in grocery purchasing power because of the SNAP interruption. The food bank said it has been spending about $1,300,000 per month to purchase food, invested $2,000,000 from reserves for immediate purchases and will begin a nighttime distribution at Delco Center on Nov. 4.

Officials also outlined referral and support services. Ingrid Taylor, CEO of United Way for Greater Austin, said 211 will continue to serve as a 24/7 referral line and that callers will reach trained staff who can connect them to up-to-date resources, including food, utilities, child care and health services. City officials noted that city programs such as Austin Energy emergency bill assistance and local rental-assistance programs can be found through 311 and a soon-to-be-published city webpage listing resources.

Speakers emphasized limits to local capacity and the unsustainability of long-term nonprofit spending to replace federal benefits. "We can plan to purchase additional resources, but that's not sustainable for a nonprofit to spend a million dollars a week to keep this going," Vatsky said, describing national pressure on food supply and the potential for higher grocery prices as food banks across the country increase orders. Brown added that local governments cannot be expected to permanently substitute for federal programs.

The officials listed programs not currently affected by the shutdown — WIC (Women, Infants and Children), TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program — and noted aviation impacts: the Federal Aviation Administration has issued temporary ground delays at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport because of air-traffic staffing shortages.

Officials encouraged residents who need assistance to visit Travis County community centers, go to centraltexas.org or unitedwayaustin.org to find distributions, or call 311 or 211 to be connected to services. They also called for community donations and volunteer support to help meet immediate needs while urging federal policymakers to reopen government programs.

Local officials framed the situation as urgent but temporary while stressing that prolonged interruption of SNAP would have ripple effects on homelessness, school meals and other public services.