Massachusetts Senate Calls on President Trump to Fund Food Assistance for People in Need

 Massachusetts Senate Calls on President Trump to Fund Food Assistance for People in Need 

Bipartisan group unanimously sends message to President 

 

(BOSTON—10/31/2025) The Massachusetts Senate on Thursday called on President Donald Trump to use his authority to keep federal funds flowing to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program before people in need begin losing access to food aid in the coming days. 

 

The formal resolutions, S.2688, were approved with support from both Democrats and Republicans on the same day that the Commonwealth advanced $4 million to local food banks to double their allotment and help address the impending crisis. The Senate’s resolutions call on the President “to use all existing authority to supplement and transfer available funds to sustain Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits throughout the duration of the ongoing federal government shutdown.” 

 

The program’s recipients could start losing access to the vital aid program as soon as November 1 as a result of the federal government shutdown in Washington. Unlike other federal shutdowns when SNAP recipients were not impacted, this fall the President has chosen not to release contingency funding to keep the program operating. Around 1 million recipients in Massachusetts could be left struggling to afford basic nutrition, with a disproportionate impact on seniors, children, and people living with disabilities. 

 

“Emergency food providers across the Commonwealth have already reported sharp increases in demand and while the Legislature and Administration have expanded investments in state based anti-hunger initiatives, including the Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program, universal school meals and the Healthy Incentives Program, the Commonwealth cannot absorb the $210,000,000 per month in federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payments that would be lost if not funded during the ongoing federal government shutdown,” the Senate said in its resolutions. 

 

A SNAP shutdown could also impact the Massachusetts economy. SNAP purchases make up a significant slice of grocery sales at farmers’ markets, neighborhood stores, and supermarkets around the state, with more than 5,500 Massachusetts retailers participating in SNAP. Retailers, the agricultural sector, and Massachusetts’ fisheries could all feel the effects. 

 

The resolutions were adopted by the Senate and will be sent by the Senate Clerk to the President in Washington.