PHOENIX – Arizona joined a multistate lawsuit on Tuesday seeking to prevent the Trump administration from suspending Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits during the government shutdown.
Twenty-five states and the District of Columbia signed onto the lawsuit, which was submitted to a District of Massachusetts federal court and lists the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Office of Management and Budget and those agencies’ leaders as defendants.
“Donald Trump is cutting off food assistance for nearly 900,000 Arizonans as we head into the month of Thanksgiving,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a press release. “I’m suing to stop him and protect the seniors, veterans, working families and their children all across Arizona who rely on the few hundred dollars a month provided by SNAP to feed themselves.”
How many Arizona residents get SNAP benefits?
According to Mayes’ office, 12% percent of Arizonans, including nearly 30,000 Arizona veterans, utilize SNAP food stamps, which are accepted at over 4,600 retailers across the state. Additionally, about 40% of Arizona’s SNAP allotment goes toward feeding children.
Earlier this month, the USDA told states it would run out of money to fund the food assistance program if the shutdown isn’t resolved by Nov. 1.
Furthermore, the Trump administration said it would not tap into $5 billion in contingency funds to support SNAP, which provides monthly food assistance to over 40 million people nationwide.
Mayes, Hobbs already pressed USDA about SNAP benefits
The new lawsuit argues that suspending SNAP benefits would cause irreparable harm and violate the Administrative Procedure Act.
It was filed four days after Mayes and 22 other state attorneys general sent USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins a letter demanding information about what will happen to the program.
On Monday, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs sent her own letter to Rollins expressing her concerns about the pending suspension of SNAP.
“It’s appalling that this administration is choosing to take food out of the hands of Arizona families,” Hobbs said in a press release. “They could take action today to end this crisis and deliver food assistance to nearly 1 million Arizonans who rely on SNAP to feed their family. Instead, they’re choosing to let seniors, children, veterans and families on the brink of crisis go hungry because of their political games.”
Arizona is now part of 28 lawsuits that have been filed against the Trump administration this year.
If you are dealing with food insecurity or want to help those who are, the Arizona Food Bank Network website has a list of available resources, including a database of food banks, pantries and soup kitchens that serve people in need and accept donations.
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