Judge Issues Emergency Protection for Food Assistance

A huge thank-you to the National Council of Nonprofits (NCN) for spending their Halloween in court, fighting alongside a broad coalition of other agencies to protect SNAP benefits. Just this afternoon, the federal court in Rhode Island issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) in a lawsuit brought by NCN and their fellow plaintiffs. This means that the Trump Administration must distribute contingency funds to continue food assistance. 

This case will likely make its way to the Supreme Court of the United States, as the Department of Justice is expected to file an appeal. But for now, this is a major win, providing immediate relief to the 42 million Americans who otherwise would have lost access to food assistance as well as the thousands of nonprofits food banks and pantries that have stepped up in their communities to fill the gaps.

ncn press statement

Federal Government Shutdown - Day 31

Today marks day 31 of the federal government shutdown. With the House still out of session and Senators out of Washington for the weekend, this will likely become the longest-lasting shutdown in U.S. history.

While there had been some breakthrough signs that bipartisan negotiations could start as soon as next week, President Trump took to social media to encourage Senate Republicans to get rid of the filibuster and reopen the government without support from the Democrats. At this time, it is unclear how this will impact negotiations.

Some impacts so far include:

• Starting tomorrow, November 1, millions of Americans will see their monthly healthcare premiums increase by 114% (in neighboring New Jersey that number is nearly 175%).
• New York has declared a state of emergency to fund food banks.
• Strained food banks are bracing for the SNAP deadline, including Facing Hunger in West Virginia. 

The only way for this to end is for Congress and the White House to reach a bipartisan agreement to reopen the government and allow nonprofits to continue our essential work. What you can do:

• Use NCN's storytelling tool to share real examples of how the government shutdown is harming nonprofits and their communities.
• Use NCN's email template to send a message directly to your Senators and Representatives, urging them to work across the aisle to reopen the government.