Penn has offered over 3,000 meal swipes on an as-needed basis to students whose Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been affected by the ongoing federal government shutdown.
Due to the shutdown, the Department of Agriculture paused over $366 million of monthly food assistance benefits in Pennsylvania for November, affecting nearly two million state residents. According to Penn First Plus Executive Director Marc Lo, more than 80% of graduate and undergraduate students who are currently enrolled in SNAP indicated that providing additional meal swipes through Penn Dining, along with vouchers for local food halls, would be most helpful.
“Penn First Plus has always known that we have undergraduates participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,” Lo told The Daily Pennsylvanian. “When we found out about the pause in SNAP benefits, we knew that some students would have concerns about their access to nutrition support.”
Lo additionally recommends that students visit the Philadelphia government's webpage to search for additional nutrition resources by ZIP code.
Penn's Netter Center is also working on compiling resources and information to share with children and families at University partner schools in West Philadelphia.
In October, the Agriculture Department published a memo that stated the program would not be able to tap into its $6 billion contingency fund to sustain SNAP benefits. The department requires congressional appropriation of funds for the program, which cannot happen until the government shutdown ends.
On Thursday, a federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the Trump administration to release full funding for November’s food assistance benefits by Nov. 7.
As the shutdown continues into its fifth week, several Penn programs — including Penn Abroad, International Scholar and Student Services, and select services at Penn Medicine — are monitoring potential disruptions.
