Item 3. Federal Shutdown Food Access Impacts - Nov 2025 — original pdf

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Impacts on Food Access due to Federal Government Shutdown Austin Climate Action & Resilience | November 17, 2025 Current Status Starting from where we are today As of November 17, 2025 ▪ SNAP benefits were not distributed Nov. 1 due to Federal Government shutdown. ▪ SNAP benefits resumed in full November 14. ▪ SNAP participants who receive benefits on or after the 14th of the month will receive their full benefits on their normal issuance date. ▪ SNAP participants who already received partial benefits will receive the rest of their monthly amount on or after November 14. ▪ Many Central Texans were struggling to put food on the table before the federal shutdown and this disruption exacerbated the issue. ▪ Last year, United Way’s Navigation Center received more than 30,000 requests for food – our community’s top requested need. 3 City of Austin Response Actions taken by City of Austin to address the impacts Coordination Efforts ▪ Austin Climate Action & Resilience alerted key COA officials of issue and potential impacts and held coordination calls ▪ Austin Emergency Management not activated; Emergency Declaration not made ▪ Intergovernmental Relations Office provided timely updates to Mayor & Council on shutdown impacts ▪ Austin Climate Action & Resilience met with ConnectCTX, Central Texas Food Bank, and other key partners to discuss messaging to community ▪ Directed people to Central Texas Foodbank website, call 2-1-1, or go to ConnectCTX.org to find nearby food pantries, meal sites, and emergency assistance programs. ▪ Press release and conference held October 31 ▪ Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and Travis County Judge Andy Brown were joined by leadership from Central Texas Food Bank and United Way for Greater Austin to share information about available resources in light of impact to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) due to the government shutdown. 5 Additional Actions ▪ Austin Climate Action & Resilience reconvened the weekly Emergency Food Access Calls on October 31. Last call slated for Friday, November 21 ▪ Partner agencies leading efforts to expand access and meet demand to bridge gap ▪ Partners noted increased demand across food distributions (i.e., Central Texas Food Bank has distributed 50% more food than this time last year) ▪ City of Austin participated in food drive collecting shelf-stable items to donate to Central Texas Food Bank ▪ Extended City of Austin Combined Charities Campaign to encourage additional giving to food access related organizations 6 Moving Forward ▪ Final Emergency Food Access call Friday, November 21 ▪ Food Plan Implementation Collaborative to convene partners working on food access ▪ New normal for SNAP is more restrictive for many populations including immigrant and refugee populations and will have more stringent work requirements ▪ Austin's proposed property tax increase for 2025, Proposition Q, was rejected by voters on November 4, 2025. ▪ This means the city will not receive the proposed additional revenue from increase that would have generated an estimated $109.5 million. ▪ The City of Austin is developing a contingency plan playbook for future potential shutdowns 7 Questions? Amanda Rohlich Food Policy Advisor Office of Climate Action & Resilience Amanda.Rohlich@austintexas.gov