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Community groups urge Franklin County to plan for SNAP interruptions as federal benefits risk pause
Summary
At the Oct. 29 fiscal court meeting, local service providers and city leaders warned that a federal shutdown could interrupt SNAP benefits for thousands of Franklin County residents and asked the county to join planning and contribute funds to a community response.
Rachel Moore, executive director of William Joseph Crisis Nursery, told the Franklin County Fiscal Court on Oct. 29 that a federal shutdown is likely to interrupt SNAP benefits for many local families and asked the county to join a community planning effort and provide funding. "We need to be proactive and come up with a plan to prevent crisis," Moore said, noting that Cabinet for Health and Family Services data show 5,282 Franklin County residents currently receive SNAP and 2,328 of them are under 18.
City Commissioner Katima Smith Willis, speaking as a resident and an official, urged cooperation across city and county lines and encouraged the fiscal court to attend the planning meetings convened by the CARES Coalition. "This is about being neighbors," she said, asking the court to join the virtual planning meeting Thursday and an in-person session Nov. 3 at Paul Sawyer Public Library to coordinate an emergency response.
CARES Coalition affiliates at the meeting described how local nonprofits, churches, schools and local food distribution programs already supply monthly food boxes to families and warned of cascading needs: colder weather, unpaid utilities and eviction risk if benefits lapse. Speakers urged the court to consider short-term funding or formal participation in the planning committee so that available local resources can be coordinated rather than duplicated.
Judge Mueller acknowledged the concern and thanked those leading local relief efforts, while commissioners asked staff to explore how the county might participate in the CARES-led planning and whether county budgets could support emergency feeding. No formal vote or appropriation was adopted at the meeting; staff were asked to follow up with organizers and report back to the court.
Next steps: organizers have scheduled a virtual planning meeting this Thursday and an in-person planning session on Monday, Nov. 3 at 4:30 p.m. at the Paul Sawyer Public Library community room; county staff indicated they will investigate options and report to the court.
