Shutdown could disrupt NC food benefits next month, Mecklenburg County warns
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Federal shutdown may delay November SNAP payments for Mecklenburg residents.
- Advocacy groups urge lawmakers to free food bank funds to support farmers and families.
- WIC funding also jeopardized as shutdown passes the three-week mark.
Mecklenburg County is warning residents who rely on food assistance to prepare for a gap in their benefits if the federal government shutdown stretches on.
Federal officials notified the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — known as SNAP or food stamps — “may be disrupted if the federal shutdown continues,” county spokeswoman Betsy Abraham said.
That means November SNAP benefits “may not be issued on recipients’ normal schedule for their usual benefit amount,” Abraham said.
A disruption could affect more than 143,000 county residents, according to previous county estimates of how many people receive SNAP benefits. Mecklenburg has the most SNAP recipients in North Carolina.
Other states have gone so far as to already tell SNAP recipients they won’t receive benefits in November if the shutdown continues.
Advocates say the federal disruption, in addition to the ongoing state budget impasse in Raleigh, could hurt those in need at a time when “hunger in North Carolina has reached its highest point in a generation.” And the holiday season is on the horizon.
SNAP benefits at risk amid government shutdown
Mecklenburg is “working to get a better understanding of exactly what” a disruption to SNAP due to the government shutdown will mean locally, Abraham said. The county says it can’t currently provide more specific details on the potential impacts for individual SNAP recipients.
But the county already started telling SNAP recipients about the potential disruption when they contact staff for assistance, Abraham added. Mecklenburg also posted a notice on its Food and Nutrition Services webpage.
NCDHHS’ website tells SNAP recipients as of Thursday that October benefits will not be disrupted by the shutdown but that the agency does “not currently have information on November” benefits.
Politico reported Thursday 25 states — including California, Alabama, Arkansas, Hawaii, Indiana, Mississippi and New Jersey —are already issuing notices to SNAP participants “that they won’t receive checks next month.”
Thursday marked day 23 of the government shutdown. The U.S. Senate has failed to advance a House-passed funding bill that would end the shutdown 12 times.
What about WIC?
SNAP isn’t the only food assistance program affected due to the government shutdown.
Mecklenburg and Iredell counties previously said funding delays related to the shutdown could upend the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, better known as WIC. The counties warned days after the shutdown began WIC funding could run out in as soon as two weeks.
The program provides access to healthy foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding education and referrals for other services to low-income pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women, as well as infants and children up to age 5.
North Carolina’s WIC program is still operating as of Thursday, NCDHHS advises. But the agency cautions WIC is not yet funded for fiscal year 2026 and shutdown impacts could be coming.
About 230,000 North Carolinians use the WIC program annually, NCDHHS estimated last year.
NC food banks, farmers sound alarm
Food banks and schools were already grappling with federal funding cuts from earlier in the year, and the federal government shutdown is pushing “even more families to seek food assistance,” advocates say.
More than 300 North Carolina farmers, faith leaders and hunger relief organizations signed onto a public letter to lawmakers this week urging action at the state level to address food concerns.
The letter said “hunger has hit a near 20-year high in North Carolina,” with more than 1.6 million people across the state facing food insecurity.
It called on state lawmakers to continue giving money to food banks to buy food from local farmers and food hubs for distribution to people in need. The money is tied up in the General Assembly’s ongoing state budget battle, according to the letter.
“More than 400 local farms and food hubs of all sizes sell products to hunger relief organizations,” the organizations wrote. “At a time when so many in the industry are dealing with the rising cost of fuel, feed, fertilizer and labor, consistent and dependable revenue from food banks is critical.”
This story was originally published October 23, 2025 at 1:22 PM.
