The nearly 1 million Washington residents and 130,000 Idahoans who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program should still expect to tighten their belts this November as even a judicial

President Trump wrote on Truth Social that federal food benefits "will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before!"

With no end to the government shutdown in sight, food assistance organizations across western Washington brace for a massive influx of people seeking help.

Government shutdown threatens SNAP benefits for 42 million Americans as funding expires Saturday, leaving low-income families without food assistance.

Data from March 2025 shows that 903,541 Washingtonians received SNAP benefits in that month, which is 11.2% of the state’s population.

States, cities and nonprofits had sued to spare millions of low-income Americans from losing benefits starting on Saturday, after the Trump administration said it would not fund them.

Democrats are working to balance their health care demands and find solutions for SNAP, with Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Luján on Wednesday introducing legislation that would direct the USDA to release available contingency funds to ensure benefits under SNAP and the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program continue during the shutdown.

It's not clear when millions of families will get November SNAP benefits, even after judges ruled the government needs to make partial payments.