Cole: Emergency funding is needed to replenish food bank inventories

As we approach the second week of SNAP benefit delays, the uncertainty and hardship facing Texas families is intensifying.

While legal proceedings around SNAP payments continue, it is increasingly clear that litigation is not a timely solution. There is still no confirmed timeline or assurance regarding when SNAP recipients will receive relief. Texans need solutions now, and food banks are seeing the urgency in our growing lines.

Three and a half million Texans participate in the SNAP program and each day, an estimated 126,000 Texans are going without the nutrition assistance they need to put food on the table. That adds up to more than 880,000 people this week alone. We’ve seen troubling misinformation circulating, so let’s be clear about who these numbers represent. These are people deserving of dignity, doing everything they can to get by. They are hardworking families with jobs who still don’t earn enough to afford the food they need. The vast majority of SNAP recipients are children, seniors, and people with disabilities. They are our neighbors. They are Texans now being forced to make heartbreaking choices between food, medicine, and other basic necessities. Many live paycheck to paycheck, just like so many others across our state. The truth is, countless Texans are just one emergency or missed paycheck away from needing help from a food bank or a little assistance from SNAP.

Food banks across Texas are doing everything in their power to fill the gap, but the shutdown is creating added strain on our inventory as more families turn to us for help. We are here for Texans, but we cannot do this alone. We are urgently calling on Governor Abbott and legislative leadership to act now. Emergency funding is needed to replenish food bank inventories as millions of Texans face SNAP delays and thousands of federal workers endure income disruptions. Together, both the Governor and the Legislative Budget Board can exercise their budget execution authority to help food banks respond to the growing hunger crisis in our state.

Texans are resilient, and food banks remain unwavering in our mission to keep families nourished, especially in times of crisis and uncertainty. But we need help now to ensure no one is left hungry while waiting for the support they urgently need.

Editor's Note: The above guest column was penned by Celia Cole, CEO of Feeding Texas, in response to a Department of Justice appeal seeking to overturn court rulings that require the funding of SNAP benefits.