Now that the government shutdown is over, when will Kentuckians see the rest of their SNAP benefits?
SNAP funding was halted during the 43-day shutdown, which ended Wednesday.
It sparked panic across the country for the tens of millions of Americans who rely on the federal food assistance.
Kentucky was among the handful of states that were able to issue partial benefits during that time.
Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday that the state is now working on rolling out the full benefits.
How to help Louisville families, food banks amid SNAP funding issues
While he didn’t have an exact date or timeline, he said it will “certainly” be by the end of the month.
“I mean, we’re going to beat that,” he said. “We’re hoping to get it done as quickly as possible.”
He said more information will be released soon on his social media channels.
As people wait for benefits to kick in, the Association of Community Ministries President Linette Lowe says the need continues.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty, absolutely,” she said. ‘And so we expect to see continued high use of food pantries.”
Lowe also adds that already, families have had to make tough decisions to pay for food over other bills, and now that money is gone.
“Even if those Snap benefits get loaded onto cards, you can’t pay your landlord with Snap benefits,” she said. “We expect to see over the next several months the ripple effects of this.”
Lowe adds they are still taking donations for food because just as fast as it comes in, it goes out.
She says cash is also a good way to donate because they can use that to help buy items like meat, or to help people with utilities.
