School districts from Texas to Oklahoma are scrambling to keep students fed and families stable as uncertainty deepens around the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) amid the ongoing government shutdown and federal court orders.
A spokesperson for the Fort Worth Independent School District said it has long recognized the food insecurity facing its students and has built systems to respond, regardless of federal actions.
“Fort Worth ISD is aware of the needs many families in our community face; this is not new,” said Jessica D. Becerra, the district’s news and information manager, in an email to The Dallas Express. “Because of this ongoing need, the district has long implemented a variety of resources to support students and their families.”
The district operates meal and snack programs, community markets, and food pantries across its campuses and collaborates with local organizations through its Parent Partnerships Department. Becerra said the current SNAP situation “is a legislative matter and not one under Fort Worth ISD’s authority,” but emphasized that the district will continue connecting families with community and campus-based supports.
Just across the Red River, school officials in Oklahoma are delivering a similar message but with more urgency. Robin Hill Public School in Norman issued a letter warning families that “due to the federal government shutdown, SNAP benefits will likely be temporarily interrupted, beginning Nov. 1.”
“Please know those impacted are not alone; we’re here to help,” Superintendent Melissa Baughman wrote.
Baughman reassured parents that students would continue to receive meals at school based on their current eligibility status and directed families facing financial changes to apply for free or reduced-price meals.
The letter listed local food pantries and resource centers, encouraging Oklahomans to call 211 for further assistance. “Although this situation is beyond our control, we can decide how to care for one another,” Baughman added.
Across the country, schools are making contingency plans as the future of SNAP, which serves about one in eight Americans, hangs in the balance with court decisions.
Federal judges in Rhode Island and Massachusetts ruled late last week that the Trump administration must continue funding the program using contingency funds, though they left open the possibility of partial payments. The administration faces a Monday deadline to inform both courts of its intended compliance, according to the Associated Press.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture website previously indicated SNAP payments would halt starting November 1 because it could no longer fund them during the shutdown. Judges ordered the administration to use at least the $5 billion contingency fund to continue payments, though it has been widely reported that this will be insufficient to cover the total monthly cost of SNAP, which is around $9 billion.
In 86% of cases, SNAP users exhaust their benefits before the end of the month, according to a recent Numerator analysis. This comes despite the fact that the average SNAP user spends $832 per month on groceries, which is 20% more than non-SNAP shoppers, per the Numerator shopper scorecard.
However, not every SNAP user will run out of money on their cards at the same time. “Benefits you don’t use stay in your account for nine months from the date they are put into your account,” the Texas Health and Human Services website states.
School districts with high rates of free or reduced lunch are particularly concerned about attendance, behavior, and academic performance, The Hill reported. Some have opened food pantries or expanded existing programs, while others claim they lack the capacity to handle the growing burden.
For now, educators and administrators across the country say they will continue to do what they can but warn that school systems cannot indefinitely substitute for federal assistance.
As of publication, the United States Senate remains deadlocked, unable to reach the 60-vote threshold to advance a spending bill. Nearly all of the Senate holdouts are Democrats, save Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. If the shutdown continues for one more day, it will tie the record for the longest shutdown in U.S. history, which was 35 days under President Donald Trump’s first term.
As Fort Worth ISD’s statement put it, the district remains “committed to caring for the whole child.”