Chair Dan Strauss told the Select Budget Committee that the package includes funding to respond to a recent lapse in federal SNAP benefits. "Instead of standing by, we took immediate action and approved $4,000,000 per month in emergency funding for food banks and meal programs," Strauss said. The committee’s package accounts for $4,000,000 of that response and preserves additional reserve capacity to address subsequent needs.

Director Noble and staff explained the funding’s placement: the package either directly funds emergency food assistance or replenishes the emergency fund after an executive draw, and staff have not yet finalized the specific legislative language because the executive transmission arrived during the meeting. Noble said the package’s $4 million is consistent with policies governing the emergency fund and that the council may move additional dollars into the reserve later in the week as the emergency’s scope becomes clearer.

Committee members asked how long the $4 million would last and whether more funding would be available. Strauss said the current $4 million could be expended by Thanksgiving and that he would look for additional opportunities to add funds to the federal-response reserve as needed.

The emergency-food allocation was discussed in the same session as other safety-net and food-program adjustments in HSD and related departments; staff emphasized contracts and purchase agreements will require explicit public-benefit language to ensure services funded with city dollars reach Seattle residents.