RICHMOND, Va. β Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday that the state will launch an unprecedented emergency nutrition assistance program to support more than 854,000 Virginians who could lose their SNAP benefits if the federal government shutdown continues into November.
"It's like building an airplane while it's taking off. It has never been done before," Youngkin said.
The governor declared a state of emergency last week to authorize the use of state funds for the program, called Virginia Emergency Nutrition Assistance or VENA. The initiative aims to fill the financial gap for Virginians enrolled in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program who won't receive payments next month if the federal government doesn't reopen.
"We are creating a parallel food assistance program or system," Youngkin said. "This parallel system, which we are calling Virginia Emergency Nutrition Assistance or VENA."
While the state cannot make payments directly into the SNAP system, officials can load the same Electronic Benefits Transfer cards with money from the state surplus. However, the new system will operate differently from traditional SNAP in several key ways.
FULL VIDEO: Virginia Governor Outlines Emergency Assistance Food Benefits
Payment timing changes
SNAP payments typically split recipients into three groups, with each group receiving money on the first, fourth or seventh of each month. Because VENA must start on a Monday, some payment dates will shift.
Recipients who usually receive payments on Saturday, November 1st will instead be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Those scheduled for Tuesday, November 4th will receive payments on Wednesday, November 5th. Recipients whose payments fall on Friday, November 7th will be paid that day as scheduled.
Officials have not yet determined what time of day the payments will appear on cards.
"I expect there are families, who will find this delay from Saturday the first to Monday the third to be challenging and a true hardship. I hope the food banks will have everything on the shelf that they need," Youngkin said.
Weekly payments replace monthly lump sums
Instead of receiving a monthly lump sum, VENA will distribute payments weekly using a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule. The program will cost $37.5 million each week.
"We have run finances and are prepared to fund this program for the entire month of November. And then I pray to the Lord that we don't have to," Youngkin said.
Anyone who received SNAP benefits for October will be covered by the state program.
To support increased demand at food banks, Youngkin announced an additional $1 million in funding for Virginia's food bank network.
State officials are finalizing remaining details and will post complete information on the Department of Social Services website.
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