San Marcos resident Callie Richards is a mom of three who works full-time. Richards has been in her low-income apartment for two years, and two years before that, she was homeless with her children when they applied for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
“People say food stamps should be temporary, but honestly, even working full time now, I can’t afford all of my bills,” Richards said. “I don’t know how I’m ever going to not need the food stamps at this point. Every month, I’m having to borrow money.”
SNAP is a federal nutrition assistance program that served 41.7 million participants a month in 2024, according to The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). USDA and Texas Health and Human Services (HHS) previously stated SNAP benefits would not be distributed in November due to the government shutdown.
A coalition of 25 states and the District of Columbia filed a suit against USDA and the Trump administration over the suspension of SNAP.
A U.S. District judge in Rhode Island blocked the Trump administration from suspending benefits, instead ordering contingency funds from fiscal years 2023 and 2024 to fund SNAP benefits. A USDA official declared on Nov. 3 that $4.65 billion of the contingency fund will fund “50% of eligible households’ current allotments.” No funds will remain for new applications certified in November or for disaster assistance.
“It won’t affect everyone all at once, because [HHS] renews people’s benefits on a staggered basis, but 128,000, we estimate, Texans every day will [be affected],” Celia Cole, Feeding Texas CEO, said. “If the shutdown continues past another week, it’ll be very challenging for us to keep up, and even if it persists for a few more days, the impacts will be felt.”
This is the first time in SNAP’s history since the Food Stamp Act of 1964 that benefits have been stopped or delayed. Cole said it is unprecedented.
There are over 7,000 cases, or households, and approximately 16,500 individuals that receive SNAP benefits in Hays County as of August 2025, according to HHS. 8,504 of those individuals are ages infant to 17.
Lisa Young, executive director of the Hays County Food Bank (HCFB), said there’s been a 40% increase in people seeking food assistance over the past three months in Central Texas. Young said it’s not sustainable for nonprofit agencies to continuously grow their client bases like this.
“No food bank could [provide] 100% of everyone’s food they will need for their entire month,” Young said. “For every meal that the food bank is able to provide, SNAP provides nine. We’re looking at food for you for today.”
Richards said she has not tried the food pantries yet because she thinks it’ll be overwhelming.
“I feel like a moocher or a failure, and then with the food stamps going out, me having to ask for help more just makes me feel even worse of a failure,” Richards said. “I’d rather try to figure it out.”
Richards works in an elementary school, so her schedule aligns with her kids’. Due to November changes, she’s been looking for side jobs that will work with her schedule, but has struggled to find opportunities.
“My kids are embarrassed that I get food stamps, and it’s sad to see how people belittle [lower-income people], or call us lazy,” Richards said. “I’m not. I try so hard.”
Feeding Texas is the state association of Food Banks in Texas, with 20 food banks that serve geographical areas, including the Central Texas Food Bank (CTFB), which works closely with HCFB.
Feeding Texas works with state legislators regarding food insecurity and crises. According to Cole, they’ve received bipartisan support on a request to increase funding so food banks don’t have to rely on their private networks.
“Food banks don’t purchase a lot of food, but most of them are having to increase their food purchasing budgets, and some are deficit spending, and others are laying off staff and looking at rationing food,” Cole said.
Young said they are concerned about building capacity after an increase in clients for their new location, but they are working with the CTFB to meet these needs, such as sending trucks to outlying areas.
“[When we] have more and more and more clients, we sometimes will go to a reservation or appointment system, so that we can manage those numbers, but we’re not going to be turning people away,” Young said.
CTFB is adding special distributions for those who receive SNAP and federal employees. Bobcat Bounty, a student-run on-campus food pantry, is open on Mondays from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. There are also nine food cupboards on campus. The locations can be found on their website.
