How a government shutdown could affect WIC, SNAP, and the Farm Bill

A potential federal shutdown could impact the Farm Bill and several federal nutrition programs, if Congress doesn't pass a government spending bill before Sunday.

The White House said this week that the shutdown would affect recipients of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). A federal contingency fund would run out just a few days after the shutdown, and the administration doesn’t have authority to extend funding, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack noted in a press briefing on Monday, potentially leaving seven million Americans without money to buy groceries. The shutdown could also affect the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), but can operate regularly through October, Vilsack said.

The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) and 600+ local, state, and national organizations, including Danone North America and Grubhub, penned a letter this week to urge Congress to pass a Continuing Resolution to avert a shutdown.

“It is unprecedented that WIC participants are caught in the political crosshairs,” FRAC president Luis Guardia said in a statement. “WIC’s critical nutrition support is needed—this is no time to shortchange it.”

The potential shutdown also comes just as the 2018 Farm Bill expires on September 30. The Farm Bill is the nation’s most impactful piece of food and agriculture legislation, renewed every five years, and about 80% of its funds support nutrition programs.

Vilsack told White House reporters in the Monday briefing that passing the bill by the end of the year would be really tricky if a shutdown occurs. Some programs would have funding continue for a few days or weeks past September 30, but farmers need the “certainty and consistency” the bill provides, he said.

• If a new Farm Bill or an extension of the prior farm bill isn’t passed by January 1, prices for staples like milk could skyrocket, as farm policy would revert back to a 1949 law. This was also a possibility in 2012 during an impasse over the bill, before the 2008 Farm Bill was ultimately extended.

“We’ll do everything we can to make sure that this thing gets passed as quickly as it can. But it’s pretty tough to do if there is a shutdown. You can’t do it,” Vilsack said.