Richmond, state leaders take action to fill SNAP gap
A worker restocks the shelves at VCU’s Ram Pantry, which aims to address food insecurity for college students on Oct. 30. The federal government’s funding for SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, has ended amid the government shutdown. Photo by Bri Stevens.
Heciel Nieves Bonilla, Assistant News Editor
Officials and food aid organizations in the Richmond region are taking action to prevent hunger amid an end to funding for SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, at the federal level.
The funding pause is the result of what is now the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, and will continue despite court rulings deeming the service freeze illegal.
What is SNAP?
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program provides a monthly stipend to low-income families to purchase healthy foods. Around 41.7 million Americans participated in SNAP in 2024, receiving an average of $187.20 per participant per month, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.
Around 828,000 Virginians depend on SNAP benefits for some or all of their groceries as of 2024, according to USAFacts. In September 2025 this included 38,492 Richmonders, 37,236 in Henrico and 31,305 in Chesterfield, according to the Virginia Department of Social Services.
Stringent work requirements and income limits apply to most who register — currently, a single-household individual who is able to work must make less than $1,255 a month to keep their benefits.
Food money caught in federal limbo
SNAP is funded by the Department of Agriculture, which is affected by the lapse in funding that occurs when a shutdown prevents a new budget, or a ‘continuing resolution’ on an existing budget, from passing the U.S. Congress. The current shutdown was caused when the Senate failed to pass a resolution, according to a previous report by The CT.
Democrats put forward a spending bill extending health care spending under the Affordable Care Act while reversing Medicaid cuts. Republicans tried to pass a seven-week stopgap funding plan. One month later, no compromise has been reached.
On Friday, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to continue funding SNAP on a federal level, shortly after another federal judge found the service cut unlawful, according to the New York Times.
The White House has since said Americans would get partial SNAP benefits as a response to the orders, despite claims by Trump to the contrary, according to Politico.
Youngkin, Avula move to keep SNAP
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced a state of emergency in Virginia in October that allows his administration to use emergency funds to keep the SNAP program running through November, as federal dollars ran dry after Halloween.
Youngkin announced on Oct. 28 that the state supplement will be called Virginia Emergency Nutrition Assistance and will release benefits weekly, with $145 million covering November, according to VPM.
Richmond Mayor Danny Avula announced in a press conference last week, Richmond, Henrico and Chesterfield would contribute over $200,000 to the central Virginia food bank Feed More. Later in a press release, the mayor’s office implored Richmonders to donate money, time or food to Feed More to help alleviate people from food insecurity.
Local organizations like FeedMore and RVA Community Fridges regularly work to address food insecurity in addition to the city’s efforts, both with and without state support, according to a recent report by The CT.
Feed More spokesperson Rodrigo Arriaza told The CT their organization “has seen an approximately 12% increase in need” in its service area. Feed More does not expect the governor’s VENA plan will fully offset the need caused by the cuts.
“In addition to working with state agencies, Feed More is in close coordination with our local government partners in Chesterfield, Henrico, Hanover, and the City of Richmond to allocate emergency funds toward additional food purchases and bolster distributions to help meet the growing need for food assistance,” Arriaza said.
Feed More is providing a tool called Agency Locator for area residents to find nearby food pantries and their hours.
Arriaza also encouraged readers to visit the 211Virginia site for other emergency resource needs.
Richmond leaders attribute hunger to corporations, poor conditions
Del. Michael Jones, D-Richmond, spoke to his constituents’ use of SNAP benefits during an event hosted by VCU’s NAACP Chapter on Oct. 29. He blamed large corporations for the economic conditions that lead to people needing food assistance.
“60% of people on SNAP have jobs,” Jones said. “And they work for companies that benefit from us having jobs and spending money […] Why isn’t Walmart paying a liveable wage so that their employees won’t have to be on SNAP? Those are the questions that aren’t getting asked.”
Jones challenged the idea that broad SNAP usage is characterized by people unwilling to work, or seeking a hand-out.
“No one wakes up in the morning saying, ‘I wanna go to jail, I wanna go five-ten, I wanna be poor, I wanna be a prostitute, sell crack, whatever,’” Jones said. “No one does that. But our capitalistic society and some greedy rich folk really make it impossible for Americans to live.”
Richmond Sheriff Antoinette Irving said she often interfaces with some of its poorest residents through her job: people who are incarcerated, homeless or in mental health crises, as well as their families.
She pointed to the sheriff’s offices’ monthly food distribution as an example of how her department helps mitigate food insecurity.
“It’s not so much we knowing how many people that are actually in the SNAP program,” Irving said. “The thing that we deal with is making sure that individuals in our community — whether it’s in Richmond, Chesterfield, Henrico, Hanover, wherever it is — that people are well nourished and they have the food that they need.”
Irving noted some Richmonders, such as seniors and relatives of incarcerated people, live without key sources of income that the department attempts to address, like through their fourth Saturday food drives. She said the goal of the initiatives is to ensure people can be ‘well nourished and they can have a good day’ — regardless of whether or not they are on SNAP.
“We know that if individuals don’t have the SNAP program, or they don’t have those benefits to be fed, then that’s gonna increase the amount of criminal activity, because if you don’t have then you’re gonna go get it,” Irving said. “Because you know that you have to manage your life the best way that you possibly can, and it’s unfortunate that a lot of people will turn to different activities, whether they be criminal or bad behavior, in order to be able to feed their families.”
