2025 Government Shutdown: Impact to Neighbors, Federal Nutrition Programs, and Food Banks

2025 Government Shutdown: Impact to Federal Nutrition Programs and Food Banks

Since the U.S. Congress did not pass legislation to fund the federal government by September 30, 2025, or temporarily extend current baseline funding through a “continuing resolution,” the government has shut down. The impacts on federal nutrition programs and the families they assist largely depend on how long a shutdown lasts. 

What does a government shutdown mean for people who participate in federal nutrition programs, including SNAP, WIC, school meals, and food boxes?

SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps): October 2025 SNAP benefits will be issued according to the usual schedule, and SNAP applications and recertifications will continue to be processed. For more information, please visit this Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES) webpage: https://des.az.gov/na. 

WIC (SNAP Supplemental Program for Women, Infants and Children): The Arizona WIC program is open and does not anticipate an immediate impact on WIC benefits or services. Disruptions may occur if the shutdown is prolonged. For more up-to-date information, WIC participants are encouraged to contact their providers or the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS): https://www.azdhs.gov/prevention/azwic. 

School meals and child nutrition programs: School meals and child nutrition programs are expected to operate as normal. This includes school breakfast and lunch, as well as afterschool meals provided through the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). A prolonged shutdown could lead to delays due to workers being furloughed.

Food boxes, including the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and the Commodity Senior Food Program (CSFP): USDA Foods, including the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and the Commodity Senior Food Program (CSFP): There is no expected impact to TEFAP or CSFP. Existing TEFAP and CSFP inventory will continue to be distributed by food banks directly to clients and to partner food pantries. The Arizona Department of Economic Security said, “There is no expected immediate impact to TEFAP or CSFP; however, a prolonged shutdown could lead to disruptions in storage and distribution funding. For TEFAP and CSFP, vendors are required to deliver any USDA Foods purchased prior to the lapse; therefore, continued food deliveries should be anticipated during the lapse, and inventory will continue to be distributed by food banks to partner agencies and/or clients, following standard operating procedures.”

Can federal employees and contractors receive assistance at food banks?

YES. Although there are rules that prohibit federal employees from accepting gifts from the public while completing official duties related to their federal employment, federal employees and people who work for federal contractors are allowed to receive charitable food assistance from nonprofits and organizations that aid community members. Some federal employees and people who work for federal contractors may also receive SNAP and/or other federal nutrition programs, if they meet all eligibility criteria.

Impact to food banks

As of June 2025, food banks in Arizona were serving 718,000 people each month. If the shutdown is prolonged, people who usually receive benefits from WIC may be impacted, meaning up to 157,000 Arizonans will need help from food banks. It is likely that some of these recipients also visit food banks already, but now will need additional and specialty items that may not be in regular supply at emergency food providers.

If the shutdown lasts for 2 weeks, some federal employees in Arizona will at least partially miss their first payday, and may be at risk of hunger as the average American is just a few paychecks away from needing help. ($62K is median income in the US, $8k median savings amount). It’s unclear just how many of Arizona’s 34,460 federal employees will be deemed to be “essential” and remain on the payroll, or be expected to report to work without pay. Not included in this total are the 39,083 active-duty military and DOD-appropriated-fund (APF) civilian personnel, bringing the potential impact to a total of 73,543.

If the shutdown lasts for more than a month, federal employees without pay may need help. SNAP and WIC recipients will need help as well. In August 2025, 867,162 Arizonans received SNAP benefits. This means thousands of neighbors visiting food banks for basic necessities, some of whom will be doing so for the first time. Again, there is likely some overlap between the people already served at food banks and these critical nutrition programs, but food banks will undoubtedly need more supplies for more people.

What Food Banks Need

In order to sustain current operations and expansion, food banks need funding for transportation, staff, food purchase, and more. Donate to food banks and the organizations that supply them. In Arizona this is AzFBN, St. Mary’s Food Bank, United Food Bank, Yuma Community Food Bank, and Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona. These large, regional food banks will be working to ensure the charitable food system is supplied and can serve as many people as possible. Key agencies like Desert Mission Food Bank will need support, too, as will pantries and other community hubs where distributions take place. Many of these organizations (visit the map here to find one) may need more volunteers as well, to help sort food, serve neighbors, and answer phone calls.