Governor Maura Healey criticized the federal decision to withhold SNAP benefits as "unconscionable" during remarks at the Greater Boston Food Banks Chain of Giving event, and urged Massachusetts residents to donate money, volunteer and contact local food pantries or Project Bread for help.

Healey, speaking at the food bank's 20th annual Chain of Giving, said that as of that morning "no funds have been released" and that USDA guidance would only allow partial funding, meaning some households could receive only a portion of their benefits or none at all. "What's happening right now in our country and president Trump's decision to withhold snap benefits is unconscionable. It's unconscionable and it's unnecessary," she said.

The governor said the state is prepared to distribute benefits when federal funds arrive and credited teams at the Department of Transitional Assistance with working overnight to prepare for distribution. "We will be ready to go as a state when those funds come in," Healey said, adding that the administration was working through "convoluted guidance that the USDA has thrown our way." She thanked Attorney General Campbell and other states for legal action seeking release of funds.

Healey described sharply increased demand at food pantries and a fourfold rise in calls to Project Bread's hotline in recent days. She urged people who are struggling to use Project Bread's hotline to be connected with local resources and asked others to give money or time. "A lot of them need money to buy food because the demand is just so big," she said, and recommended volunteers for distribution and for driving food to people who are homebound.

She also detailed broader effects tied to the shutdown: she said roughly 300,000 residents had lost heating assistance and another 300,000 had notices of higher health-care premiums, and that some nutrition programs such as WIC could see benefits stop. The governor said the Baker administration had doubled certain funding to food pantries and provided money for Head Start so 2,000 children would not lose childcare, and called on the president and Congress to reopen the government.

Healey closed by stressing the role of local partners and retailers in relief efforts and urged the public to "get in the game" by donating or volunteering.