More than 888,000 Washington residents — including thousands of families in south King County — could lose access to food assistance in November after the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it will halt Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits starting Nov. 1.

Mary’s Place, which serves Burien families experiencing homelessness and food insecurity, issued an alert this week urging households to prepare and connect with available resources. The organization emphasized that November’s halt could leave many without access to groceries and meals.

Among the resources Mary’s Place shared are the Emergency Food Network, Hunger Free Washington, the Food LifeLine food map, and 2-1-1, a statewide hotline that helps residents locate nearby services. Families can also turn to Little Free Pantries, the SODO Community Market, and local churches and community groups that may be running food drives or meal programs.

Mary’s Place advised families to plan ahead, prioritize shelf-stable and bulk items with any remaining October SNAP benefits, and remember that unused benefits roll over and only expire after 274 days of inactivity on an EBT card.

The organization also encouraged residents to take advantage of additional programs that stretch SNAP benefits, including:

  • SNAP Produce Match, which provides $5 produce coupons with every $10 in qualifying fruit and vegetable purchases.
  • SNAP Market Match, which doubles spending power at participating farmers markets and farm stands by up to $25 per day.
  • The Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program, which works with health centers to provide up to $500 in Safeway vouchers for patients facing food insecurity.
  • The Emergency Food Assitanced Program (TEFAP), which channels USDA food and funding through 19 lead hunger-relief agencies and their local partners to supply more than 300 food pantries, shelters, and meal providers that serve low-income children, adults, seniors, and people experiencing homelessness across Washington.

Mary’s Place noted that families can continue using any unused benefits from these programs during November despite the pause in regular SNAP disbursements.

Since 2007, The B-Town Blog is Burien’s multiple award-winning hyperlocal news/events website dedicated to independent journalism.

5 replies on “SNAP benefits will be halted Nov. 1 as federal shutdown continues, hitting south King County families”

  1. Thank you B-Town and Waterland blogs for all you are doing to help inform South King County residents about resources available during this potential food and services’ crisis.

  2. Thank you Trumpers! It feels great to have people go hungry while we pay an army of masked thugs to terrorize our communities!

    1. You realize the intent of the government shutting down is based on what? Next whose involved in those decisions, Next does it take an agreement between who to solve it?

      Educate yourself, here ya go:

      The U.S. federal government is shut down because Congress failed to pass the necessary funding legislation by the deadline (September 30) that would fund federal agencies for the new fiscal year and there has been no agreement on a continuing resolution (temporary funding) either.

      Here are more details about why and what’s happening:

      Why it happened:
      The federal budget process requires that federal spending bills (appropriations) or a stop-gap continuing resolution (CR) be approved by Congress before the start of the fiscal year (October 1).

      For this shutdown, the disagreement is largely between the two major parties over issues like health-care subsidies, federal spending levels, and what programs should be included in the funding bills.

      Because no agreement was reached, at 12:01 a.m. on October 1, 2025 the funding lapse began and agencies lacking “mandatory” funding were forced to shut down or reduce operations.

      Where things stand:
      The United States Senate has repeatedly voted (13 times) on a continuing resolution to fund the government through November 21 but each time failed to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to move it forward.

      Both parties are blaming each other; Republicans say Democrats must “just vote to reopen the government,” while Democrats say any funding bill must include certain provisions (e.g., health-care subsidies) before they’ll support it.

      1. I guess Trumpers don’t try to defend the administration anymore. Just copy/paste some AI slop and “here ya go.” I’m sure hungry families appreciate the effort.

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