Last updated October 9, 2025
Philabundance will monitor the situation and update this page as needed.
As of October 1, the federal government is shut down, because Congress did not pass funding legislation. The impact of this shutdown will largely depend on how long it lasts. In past years, shutdowns have lasted anywhere from a few hours to just over a month.
The longer it continues, the more people will struggle to support themselves and their families. We at Philabundance are hoping (and advocating!) that this shutdown will come to an end soon. In the meantime, we are working hard to meet the need, fill the gap, and ensure that everyone in our community has the food they need to thrive.
Philabundance is concerned about how this will impact — and likely increase — hunger in our area. With nearly 700,000 people in our region already struggling with food insecurity, and food banks already stretched thin with fewer resources, we are facing a hunger crisis that will only be exacerbated by this shutdown.
Shutdowns create instability in people’s lives each day they continue and could force many to make impossible choices between putting food on the table and paying their bills. If the government does not reopen soon, food banks will be the first, and potentially only, option for assistance for many impacted individuals and families.
During a shutdown, federal employees do not get paid. These millions of workers are either temporarily laid off or must continue to work without pay. Many are just one missed paycheck away from needing support, and as a result, may soon struggle to feed their families and turn to food banks to help.
The shutdown also threatens the availability of federal benefits, harming those already facing hunger. If the shutdown does not end soon, recipients of federal nutrition assistance programs may see disruptions to their benefits and rely on food banks to fill the gap. During previous shutdowns, food banks across the country saw large spikes in demand for emergency food assistance – and we are preparing for the same scenario now.
For the month of October, many federal nutrition programs will continue to operate as usual. However, they may see disruptions due to lack of funding or administrative delays if the shutdown is prolonged.
SNAP: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for the month of October will be received in full and on time. A shutdown will not impact October SNAP benefits. However, the availability of November SNAP benefits is unknown and expected to be incomplete and disrupted. As food prices remain high, the loss of SNAP benefits during a prolonged period would jeopardize food access for the 42 million Americans who receive them.
WIC: The Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program serves nearly 7 million pregnant and postpartum women, infants, and children. Without government funding, WIC recipients are at risk of losing their benefits at some point in October. The exact timing and extent of this disruption will vary from state to state. We are working to learn more about this situation, but WIC benefits should not be immediately impacted.
School meals: Children will still be able to receive school breakfast, school lunch, and after-school meals. These programs have more flexibility during a shutdown, because they operate on a reimbursement model. However, a prolonged shutdown may delay reimbursements.
Government food should continue to flow to food banks through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) until the end of 2025, though food banks will see disruption if the shutdown continues past then. Other federal benefits programs like Social Security and Medicaid/Medicare should not be interrupted.
Benefits recipients should rely on official sources, such as their local County Assistance Office or WIC Office, for the most accurate updates and guidance.
No matter how long it lasts, this government shutdown will stop Philabundance from receiving and distributing food. No matter the challenge, Philabundance is committed to doing what we can to support our neighbors in need. In Philabundance’s service area alone, the shutdown may impact about 60,000 federal government workers and hundreds of thousands of families who rely on federal assistance programs to put food on the table. The charitable food network will be the first, and potentially only, option for those whose paychecks or benefits were disrupted.
We stand ready to help.