Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday ordered the state’s national guard to support food banks after federal food assistance ran out this weekend for more than 800,000 residents, prompting fears that many would go hungry.
Murphy declared a state of emergency to help amid the federal government shutdown and signed two executive orders in response to the halt in food aid. One order creates a task force to consider the state’s response to the halt in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits while the another directs state agencies to coordinate food access efforts across New Jersey.
“The Trump Administration’s failure to fund SNAP benefits has left hundreds of thousands of New Jersey residents feeling scared and unsure of where their next meal will come from,” Murphy said in a statement. “Today, members of the Air National Guard are mobilizing to deliver refrigerated storage containers to the Community Foodbank of New Jersey and Fulfill, enhancing the cold storage capacity at critical hubs for our emergency feeding organizations.”
Murphy also fast-tracked $42.5 million in food and hunger grants ahead of schedule to help food banks meet soaring demand. State agencies are urging SNAP recipients to check their balances and contact local food assistance programs for immediate help.
Four refrigerated storage containers with state emergency supplies went to the Community Food Bank of NJ and of Fulfill in Neptune, according to the Murphy administration.
New Jersey National Guard members are going to the Community Food Bank to help distribute food.
Earlier, the Trump administration announced it will use roughly $6 billion in emergency funds to cover about half of November’s SNAP benefits. But it is still unclear when those funds will reach families.
Nearly half of all New Jersey SNAP recipients are children, one in three has a disability, and one in five is over the age of 60. The state says new federal funds will not be available immediately, but recipients can still use any SNAP dollars carried over from previous months.
At CUMAC in Paterson, one of the state’s busiest food pantries, the shelves are turning over as quickly as they’re stocked.
“As fast as it’s coming in, it’s going out,” said Jessica Padilla Gonzalez, CUMAC’s CEO. “That’s what’s keeping us up at night making sure we have enough food to feed our community and that our neighbors don’t go hungry.”
Padilla Gonzalez says her team is preparing for what could become a crisis. “We may have to go back to pre-packed boxes for families,” she said. “That’s something we don’t want to do because we want people to have the dignity of choosing their food. But if inventory drops, we won’t have a choice.”
CUMAC is now serving roughly 200 people a day, and the number keeps growing. “We used to see 30% of people not show up for appointments. Now it’s below 20% because people need it,” Padilla Gonzalez said.
Passaic County has the highest rate of families relying on SNAP in the state; nearly 80,000 residents, many of whom already depend on CUMAC for groceries. “We were already struggling to serve record numbers,” Padilla Gonzalez said. “Now we’re asking: how are we going to feed double that? It’s mostly about inventory how are we going to get the food?”
Her organization is now expanding resources in anticipation that federal funds may not arrive before Thanksgiving. “We’re organizing mobile distribution sites for families who no longer have access to their EBT cards,” she said. “We’re setting up specific locations, asking families to pre-register, and preparing boxes so no one is left out.”
It’s still unclear when partial SNAP payments will be loaded onto EBT cards for November. Meanwhile, New Jersey’s food banks, pantries and community kitchens are stepping in to make sure families don’t go hungry.
Murphy said his administration will continue pressing the USDA to release emergency funds but until then, the state’s emergency response network is all that stands between thousands of residents and an empty table.
