Atlanta council urges state to use funds to maintain SNAP benefits during federal shutdown

The Atlanta City Council voted to urge Gov. Brian Kemp and the Georgia General Assembly to declare a state of emergency and authorize use of state funds to continue SNAP benefits after federal payments lapsed.

The resolution, introduced by Council Member Jason Dozier and cosponsored on the floor, said more than 1.4 million Georgians — including more than 640,000 children — faced immediate food insecurity when federal SNAP distributions stopped. The measure calls on state leaders to use the state budget surplus to bridge benefits until federal funds are restored.

Dozier read the resolution in full and moved for adoption, saying local leaders and nonprofits had stepped in to provide emergency food aid but that state action was needed to avert a wider hunger crisis. The resolution also commended the mayor’s office, Atlanta Public Schools and local nonprofits for expanding meal programs and coordinating relief as the shutdown continued.

Council members added their names as cosponsors on the council floor before the vote. The motion to adopt the resolution passed on the council floor, recorded as 12 yeas, 0 nays.

The resolution directs the clerk to send copies to the governor, speaker of the Georgia House, lieutenant governor and the commissioner of the Georgia Department of Human Services and to members of the state’s congressional delegation.

Council members noted the resolution does not require the city to fund SNAP but instead asks state leaders to act quickly; it also urged continued coordination with community food banks and school meal programs while legislative action is pursued.

The council’s move follows court rulings and state-by-state actions elsewhere that allowed temporary distributions; Atlanta’s resolution frames the issue as an urgent, statewide public-health and human-services problem that requires state-level emergency authority.