Estimated Time to Read: 8 minutes
Unless Congress acts to reopen and fund the federal government, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits will stop on November 1. This marks the first interruption in over sixty years of the program’s history and will affect more than forty-two million Americans, including three and a half million Texans and roughly 1.7 million children.
Those numbers illustrate the scope of dependency that now exists. Roughly one in eight Americans receives SNAP benefits, and in Texas, it is one in nine. The program costs taxpayers around eight billion dollars a month, of which about $614 million goes to Texans.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed in a memorandum from the Office of the Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services that benefits will not be issued without a new appropriation. The agency explained that contingency funds cannot legally be used to pay regular benefits.
The memorandum also stated that these contingency funds are reserved for emergencies such as hurricanes or floods, and that diverting them would pull funding from school meal programs, infant formula, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). The USDA directed all states to hold November benefit files and not transmit them to processors until further notice.
The result is that over $600 million in expected assistance for Texans will not be distributed this month. That figure is a reminder of how vast and entrenched federal welfare has become, and how many Americans have come to depend on Washington for their most basic needs.
Texas Faces the Fallout
In Texas, the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) cannot issue payments without federal funding. Texans may still use any unused October benefits, but no new funds will be loaded onto Lone Star Cards until Congress acts.
Food banks and private charities are preparing for an immediate spike in need. Feeding Texas, which represents twenty food banks across the state, has warned that its network is already strained by serving furloughed federal employees and military families also affected by the shutdown. Texas-centric grocer H-E-B has pledged $5 million to Feeding Texas and another $1 million to Meals on Wheels to help fill the gap, yet these private efforts can only cover a fraction of the shortfall.
This is where Texans must step up. The shutdown is not only a political impasse; it is a test of whether the private market and local communities can meet needs when Washington fails. Texas Policy Research believes they can, and must. Churches, nonprofits, grocers, and civic groups are better positioned than bureaucracies to act swiftly and with compassion.
Washington’s Paralysis Reveals the Fragility of Federal Welfare
This shutdown highlights the fundamental weakness of large, centralized safety-net programs. When Congress fails to pass a budget, the programs that millions depend on grind to a halt. It is a reminder that government dependency is not security.
Federal programs like SNAP are expensive, slow to adapt, and often driven more by political negotiation than by compassion. The federal government is not good at empathy; people are. Government can write checks, but it cannot see neighbors, families, or communities in need. True compassion happens at the local level, where accountability, relationships, and community engagement make aid personal and effective.
This moment is not only a crisis but also an opportunity for the private market and civic society to prove what Texans have long believed. When left free to act, churches, nonprofits, and private donors can respond faster, more humanely, and more efficiently than government agencies ever could. In the short term, that means mobilizing local charities to fill the gap. In the long term, it means reforming programs so they emphasize accountability and efficiency rather than endless dependency.
The Crisis Underscores Why States Must Lead
The looming halt in benefits exposes not just Washington’s dysfunction but a deeper policy truth. For years, leaders at every level have assumed that federal welfare programs are permanent fixtures of American life. The current shutdown proves otherwise. When Congress stalls, families suffer, and that is precisely why state-level innovation matters.
Texas, unlike Washington, did not wait for a crisis to start thinking about reform. Lawmakers saw early on that SNAP needed accountability, efficiency, and a renewed focus on nutrition. Senate Bill 379 was not written in response to this shutdown, but it represents the kind of foresight that becomes essential when federal systems fail. The federal crisis and the state’s reform effort tell the same story from different perspectives: dependency makes people vulnerable, but initiative makes them resilient. Texas acted before it had to, demonstrating that leadership means anticipating problems rather than reacting to them.
Texas’s Earlier Reform Effort: SB 379
Earlier this year, Texas lawmakers passed Senate Bill 379 (SB 379), authored by State Sen. Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston) and signed by Governor Greg Abbott (R). Supported by Texas Policy Research, SB 379 amends the Texas Human Resources Code by adding Section 33.031, which prohibits the use of SNAP benefits to buy sweetened drinks or candy
The statute defines a sweetened drink as a nonalcoholic beverage made with water that contains at least five grams of added sugar or any amount of artificial sweetener. Milk, milk substitutes, and juices composed of more than fifty percent fruit or vegetable content remain allowed. Candy is defined as any item ordinarily packaged and sold for consumption without further preparation.
Federal Approval Granted and Implementation Set for April 2026
Under the approved waiver, the new policy begins April 1, 2026. It will prohibit SNAP purchases of soda, candy, chips, cookies, sweetened beverages, and energy drinks while preserving milk, unsweetened alternatives, infant formula, and medical nutrition products.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins called the Texas law a model for responsible reform and praised the state for redirecting taxpayer-funded nutrition assistance toward foods that support long-term health. Governor Abbott echoed those remarks, saying the change ensures public funds are used for nutrition, not indulgence.
While not perfect, SB 379 reflects an effort to make an inefficient federal program at least operate more responsibly within its existing framework. It acknowledges the reality that SNAP is not going away overnight, yet seeks to ensure that public dollars are used in ways that promote health rather than subsidize poor dietary choices.
Policy Rationale and Fiscal Responsibility
Texas Policy Research supported SB 379 because it advances public health and fiscal discipline while respecting taxpayer resources. The Legislative Budget Board projected a one-time cost of about 1.54 million dollars to update systems and inform retailers and recipients, with no ongoing expenses beyond fiscal year 2026.
This modest investment can yield long-term dividends. Encouraging nutritious purchases helps reduce chronic diseases that inflate Medicaid costs. It also restores some integrity to a program originally designed to prevent hunger, not subsidize unhealthy lifestyles.
SB 379 is not the ideal solution; it still operates within a federal welfare structure that Texas Policy Research fundamentally believes should be replaced by private charity and free-market compassion. Within that imperfect reality, however, it demonstrates how state-level reforms can at least make existing programs less wasteful and more focused on their stated purpose.
The Broader Lesson
The ongoing SNAP shutdown reveals how dependent Americans, and Texans, have become on federal welfare programs. In a nation of more than three hundred forty million people, roughly one in eight Americans now relies on SNAP to afford food. In Texas, that ratio is one in nine. When millions depend on Washington to put food on the table, the issue is no longer one of compassion; it is one of control.
Dependence on the government for survival is not sustainable. The federal government cannot be the nation’s pantry, nor should it be. Compassion is not the same as control, and the more power we cede to government in the name of security, the more fragile that security becomes.
If safety nets are to exist, they should be temporary and efficient, helping people regain stability rather than cementing reliance. The private market, churches, and community organizations must reclaim their role as the true safety net. They can deliver help without bureaucracy, adapt to real needs, and provide assistance that restores independence.
The federal shutdown is a crisis, but it is also an opportunity. It is an opportunity for Texans to show what a free society looks like when citizens take care of each other rather than waiting for the state to do it. Government can distribute benefits, but it cannot build resilience. The task now falls to individuals, families, churches, and the private sector to prove that self-governance works not only in politics but in compassion.
Texas’s reform through SB 379 was never about perfect policy. It was about responsibility within a broken system. In an ideal world, programs like SNAP would not exist at all, because free individuals, private philanthropy, and strong communities would meet those needs directly. Until that world returns, reforms like SB 379 represent steps toward greater accountability and less dependence on government. While Washington falters, Texas has shown a better path, one rooted in self-reliance, personal responsibility, and the enduring belief that liberty, not dependency, is the foundation of a truly compassionate society.
Texas Policy Research relies on the support of generous donors across Texas.
If you found this information helpful, please consider supporting our efforts! Thank you!
