Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin declares state of emergency to preserve SNAP benefits during shutdown

Devlin Epding, The Virginian-Pilot on Oct 23, 2025

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NORFOLK, Va. — Gov. Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency Thursday to prevent a lapse in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for Virginians beginning Nov. 1 as a result of the ongoing government shutdown.

The shutdown has left the U.S. Department of Agriculture roughly $3 billion short in its multi-year contingency fund to cover a month of SNAP benefits, which provides food assistance for low-income individuals, according to reporting from the Virginia Mercury. Without the necessary funds or a congressional deal to cover the program, the USDA notified the commonwealth earlier this week that benefits would not be issued in the new month.

The state of emergency allows the state to use emergency funds to cover the cost of the program, which more than 850,000 Virginians rely on for food security, according to Youngkin.

The Virginia Department of Social Services issued a notice this week that benefits would lapse Nov. 1 if the shutdown is not resolved by Oct. 28. That led to several municipalities, like Norfolk and Newport News, to issue their own warnings that food stamp benefits might be delayed or may not come at all for November.

It’s unclear how quickly the state could authorize the spending or exactly how much it would cost to cover benefits for all state recipients next month. The maximum SNAP benefit a single person can receive is $294 per month, and the most a family of four can receive is $994 per month.

In the announcement, Youngkin blamed Democrats for necessitating the state of emergency due to the shutdown, but said there will be no lapse in SNAP benefits for people who need them.

“I refuse to let hungry Virginians be used as ‘leverage’ by congressional Democrats,” Youngkin said in the release. “I am declaring a State of Emergency due to the Democrat shutdown to protect hungry Virginians in need.”

SNAP usage is rising in Virginia. In 2022, the USDA issued an average of nearly $117 million in SNAP benefits help feed the roughly 775,000 Virginia recipients, according to the Department of Agriculture. More than three quarters of those people were at or below the poverty line.

With federal government workers furloughed or working without pay during the shutdown, which is now in its third week, Hampton Roads foodbanks have stepped up to support affected community members.

Registration for a Virginia Peninsula Food Bank’s mobile food pop up at Hampton Coliseum opened at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, but cars were lining up as early as 4:30 a.m. to ensure attendees received food, according to staff.

By the time distribution began at 10 a.m. — food bank’s last such food drive of the month — roughly 250 cars had filed into the parking lot waiting to be ushered in line. Staff turned away several cars attempting to get tickets as registration was already at capacity.

The food bank has put on several food drives since the beginning of the shutdown, especially targeted toward furloughed workers, according to its Chief Executive Officer Bob Latvis. However, he said food insecurity on the Peninsula is rising, and at some point, the food bank won’t be able to purchase enough food to serve the community’s need.

Some attendees were furloughed government workers, some had children, others were picking up for family. One person arrived at 5 a.m. to pick up food to bring to their church and distribute.

For some, like 59-year-old Douglas Facey, who last used SNAP benefits five years ago, rising food costs are putting financial stress on families that otherwise would not need support.

“We have food, but we got five kids, and they’re in college,” Facey said.

Roughly two dozen volunteers with emptied the two truckloads of food to deliver boxes containing eggs, greens, meat and potatoes to every car in line as drivers smiled and waived in thanks. By 11 a.m. there was a small cheer as the last car pulled away.

Food insecurity has risen year over year by 10,000 people, according to Latvis. And the most recent data is from last year, meaning it doesn’t include the impacts of federal cuts to the food bank earlier this year, new applicants since the shutdown, or the furloughed workers who aren’t in the office to process new SNAP applications.

Latvis said Virginia’s state of emergency will certainly take some immediate pressure off the food bank, but it doesn’t change the overarching issues that won’t go away once the government reopens.

“What we saw as the increase before [the shutdown], there was no forecast ahead that said that was going to stop,” Latvis said. “It’s a welcome relief. We’re glad that Gov. Youngkin has taken that action, without question. But to me, it’ a Band-Aid, it’s a temporary fix that had to be solved very quickly at the federal level.”

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