As the second-longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history approaches its fourth week, the future of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, or SNAP, is in peril, causing some to call for a change of plans come Halloween.
Nonprofit groups, parents and dietitians are among those calling on community members to hand out nonperishable food items along with candy on Halloween, in order to potentially assist some of the 42 million Americans currently served by SNAP.
The federally funded program, often referred to as “food stamps,” will soon lose funding if the shutdown continues, according to the Department of Agriculture, with benefits expected to cease Nov. 1.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images – PHOTO: A child dressed as Mario fixes their mustache after receiving candy while Trick-or-Treating, Oct. 31, 2023, in Austin, Texas.
On Oct. 23, the nonprofit United Way Family Resource Network posted on Facebook, urging followers to consider handing out nonperishables to trick-or-treaters, sharing ideas for the best types of items to hand out, including ramen, microwaveable macaroni and cheese, and pretzels.
“This year with SNAP benefits being cut, it’s extremely critical that families are being given access to these foods,” Victoria Nottingham, the family resource network manager of Monongalia County, West Virginia, who works under the United Way Family Resource Network, said in an interview with ABC News.
SNAP has traditionally been entirely federally funded, but is administered by states. This means the shutdown’s impact on SNAP and when benefits will start to dry up will vary by state.
“Halloween is such a community event, right?” Nottingham said. “There are so many different ways to see large volumes of community members, your own community members, and so it’s a really good chance to be able to give a surplus.”
Caroline Weeks, a physician’s assistant and registered dietitian nutritionist, also posted a video on her social media account, The Clinic Dietitian, encouraging community members to offer the option for nonperishable goods on Halloween.
“Families are already struggling and they’re set to struggle a whole lot more,” she says in the video.
In an interview with ABC News, Weeks touched on the importance of SNAP benefits to combat food insecurity.
“SNAP is one of the most successful governmental food assistance programs in all of American history, and it allows families growing children to essentially meet nutritional adequacy,” Weeks said.
The dietitian also noted the importance of offering nonperishable goods alongside regular Halloween candy to “level the playing field” for kids looking for food.
“I think the minds of children — when they see their colleagues, their classmates, you know, knowing that … there’s this, perhaps, element of potential feelings of inadequacy or, heaven forbid, embarrassment — offering the nonperishable foods alongside the candy and making it kind of a sense of novelty and fun will sort of desensitize that and take away that potential sense of embarrassment,” she said.
Other content creators have shared similar ideas on social media.
Kelcie Martin, a content creator, advocate, mother and author, who posts under the username @insidemyspectrum, said her plan this year, with SNAP cuts on the horizon, was to buy ramen, macaroni and cheese, and other shelf-stable items for the holiday in order to give kids a guilt-free way to access goods that may now be more difficult to obtain.
“This is a great way for kids to get food without feeling embarrassed too, cause we’re giving it away for Halloween, and if they wanna stock up, I’m not gonna say anything,” she added.
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Nottingham encouraged community members across the country to be grateful and thoughtful of their neighbors through Halloween and the oncoming holiday season.
“I just encourage everyone to really think about what they have this holiday season,” she said. “There are so many different ways to help your community, and I hope that people don’t forget that.”
ABC News’ Tesfaye Negussie contributed to this report
