The impacts of a government shutdown, as best we can predict them, largely depend on how long a shutdown lasts. As a network we must hope for the best—no shutdown or a brief shutdown that lasts for just a few days—but prepare for the worst-case scenario—a prolonged shutdown that leads to increased demand for charitable food assistance. Feeding America recommends that network members plan and prepare for the potential operational impacts of a shutdown, and how you might communicate with members of your community about the potential effects.

We have answered some frequently asked questions below about how a government shutdown could affect food banks and local communities.

Topics:

General Information/Food Bank Impact

Q: What type of impact is expected for food banks?

A prolonged government shutdown would potentially, and most immediately, impact food banks through increased demand for food assistance from federal employees, active-duty military members, and people who work for a federal contractor due to incomplete or missed paychecks.

A shutdown that lasts several weeks or longer could also impact TEFAP, SNAP, WIC and other nutrition programs, due to a lack of funding, a delay in processing benefits, or both.

If the government is not reopened quickly, food banks will be the first, and potentially only, option for assistance for many impacted individuals and families. And for some people who live in rural areas, including many Native American communities, food banks may not even be an accessible option.

Q: What happens during a partial government shutdown?

A partial government shutdown occurs when Congress passes and the president signs some but not all of the federal government’s 12 annual funding bills by the established deadline. Agencies covered by the enacted bills continue operating as usual. However, any agencies not funded in time must shut down. If the government is in a partial shutdown, employees from the shuttered agencies may be furloughed or they may have to continue working without pay.

As was the case in 2018/2019, a partial shutdown can cause a significant increase in demand for food assistance from employees and contractors from the departments that shut down due to paycheck disruptions and uncertainty.

If the agriculture appropriations bill is not passed by the deadline, USDA would be forced to furlough most staff and alter operations until Congress passes new funding legislation. A prolonged shutdown at USDA could lead to disruptions to SNAP, TEFAP, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and other federal nutrition programs, due to a lack of funding, a delay in processing benefits, or both. Additionally, some nutrition programs are funded outside of USDA, such as Meals on Wheels, which is funded through the Department of Health and Human Services. This means that even if USDA is funded, a long-term partial shutdown could still result in disruptions that impact food access.

Q: Can the Feeding America national organization share information about available food with our food bank’s sourcing leads in advance?

Food banks can continue to learn about available food via the normal channels: the Choice System, MealConnect, sharing between partner food banks, regional co-ops, and the Grocery Purchasing Program.

Federal Employees, Active-Duty Military Personnel and People Who Work for a Federal Contractor

Q: What does a shutdown mean for federal employees, active-duty military personnel and people who work for a federal contractor who come to us for help?

Federal employees, active-duty military personnel and people who work for a federal contractor may receive charitable assistance from nonprofits for needs that arise during a shutdown and beyond. Although there are rules that prohibit federal employees from accepting gifts from the public while completing official duties related to their federal employment, federal employees, active-duty military personnel and people who work for a federal contractor are allowed to receive charitable assistance from nonprofits and other organizations that aid community members.

While federal employees and active-duty military personnel will eventually receive back pay after a partial shutdown ends, people who work for a federal contractor will not.

During past shutdowns, many food banks and food pantries opened their doors to help federal employees and other impacted individuals. This included providing emergency food distributions, as well as helping people apply for federal nutrition programs like SNAP, WIC and school meals.

Federal employees, active-duty military personnel and people who work for a federal contractor can apply for SNAP when a shutdown disrupts their pay if they meet the eligibility guidelines for their state. SNAP participants must report any changes in household income needs to their state agency as required by their state’s SNAP rules. So, after a shutdown ends and federal employees begin to receive their paychecks again, they would need to report changes as required.

Federal employees, active-duty military personnel and people who work for a federal contractor who currently meet state income criteria can also receive food distributed through TEFAP. We recommend that for TEFAP, food banks certify federal employees or contractors as eligible for the period of the shutdown if they meet the income criteria without their federal pay. If they will not receive back pay in the period of the shutdown, they are able to accurately declare zero income from their federal employment for that time period. Food banks should contact their state agency with any specific questions about eligibility criteria and follow current state income guidelines for the program.

Q: Where can we find data on the number of federal employees in our service area?

You can access and download public data on federal civilian employment by state (March 2024) and congressional district (2023) and county (2019-2023). Although this data is the most recent public data available, it does not reflect the number of civil servants who have voluntarily or involuntarily separated from the government workforce so far in 2025.

Note: In spring 2024, we updated an interactive dashboard with a map of select federal civilian employee and salary data by county and service area as of March 2023 to help inform partner food bank shutdown response planning and the Feeding America national organization grantmaking response. Although we don’t have plans to update the dashboard again, and the map currently shows only federal civilian employees who were at risk of the second phase of last year’s potential partial government shutdown, network members still have access to the tool. It allows users to filter the data by average median income and view a table that highlights the number of civilian employees by income bands below $50,000. Please note that this dashboard reflects one data source and excludes people who work for a federal contractor, uniformed military personnel and select agencies. For these reasons, we advise you to instead reference county-level data from the American Community Survey and state-level data on military and civilian personnel from the Department of Defense. If, however, you have questions about how the data on the interactive dashboard differ from other available data sources, please contact research@feedingamerica.org. 

Q: Do you have any data on active-duty military personnel?

You can reference state-level data on military and civilian personnel by service/agency, which the Department of Defense updates quarterly. As noted above, local data on the number of individuals in the armed forces is also available by .

Active-duty military, reservists and others who follow the Department of Defense pay schedule are paid twice per month, whereas civilian employees who follow the General Services Administration (GSA) pay calendar are paid every two weeks.

Q: How do we find out where the federal employees are who will need us the most?

During a shutdown, some federal employees would be furloughed, while others who are deemed essential would be required to work without pay. Each department within the government determines who is deemed essential (see agency contingency plans here), and while there are numbers, the locations of those essential individuals are not disclosed. Exploring the most recent historical local data on federal civilian employment and individuals in the armed forces linked above is a good starting point for learning where need may be high.

Q: What are the main groups or unions representing federal employees?

Many federal workers are members of the American Federation of Government Employees, the National Federation of Federal Employees, or the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers.

Federal Nutrition Programs

Q: What does a shutdown mean for federal nutrition programs, like SNAP?

Most federal nutrition programs are unlikely to be impacted during a short shutdown. However, in the event of a prolonged shutdown, programs like SNAP, TEFAP, WIC and others may see disruptions, due to a lack of funding, a delay in processing benefits, or both. The status of many of these programs will vary by state based on the available funding during a prolonged shutdown.

Advocacy

Q: If a shutdown occurs, what advocacy actions should we take?

Network members can do two key things:

  1. Talk about the impact of a shutdown with the media. Sharing the impact of a shutdown on our neighbors and local communities will help create more pressure for decision-makers to reopen the government.
  2. Be a resource to congressional offices, whichever side of the issue they are on. The ability to provide real-time information about the impact of a shutdown on the community helps offices provide constituent services, helps us build relationships with the offices, and allows us to pivot down the line to our key policy asks. We must show the impact of a shutdown to help end it.
    1. Provide local data: Share statistics about food insecurity in the office’s district or state and how disruptions in federal funding will exacerbate the problem.
    2. Collect data: Document increases in need and disruptions caused by the shutdown to inform future advocacy.

Fundraising/Member Grants

Q: Will the Feeding America national organization provide member grants to support shutdown response?

The national organization will assess the possibility of additional member grants based on the severity and duration of a shutdown. We will provide updates as the situation evolves.

A data-informed approach would be used to target funds, leveraging data points such as the estimated number of impacted people in each service area, available food bank resources, and brief network member input to help us better understand the frontline experience in different service areas. Other data points may also be considered, based on the particular situations that unfold.

Q: Does the Feeding America national organization need to wait until a shutdown begins to seek food and funds for federal employees as they prepare for a shutdown?

We understand and hear the stress food banks are under as they respond to big increases in demand ahead of potential crises. If a shutdown occurs and a shutdown response fund is established, we can then seek restricted funding for shutdown response.

Q: Should we connect with the Feeding America national organization if we have national financial donors in our area?

If a shutdown response fund is activated, the national organization will proactively reach out to current donors to seek support. If food banks are working with national companies in their service area, the Development Team welcomes the opportunity to partner on outreach.

 

For more information, please visit the Potential Government Shutdown HungerNet page.