(Louisiana Illuminator) – In a place known globally for its culinary culture, it is absolutely heartbreaking that Louisiana finds itself facing a hunger crisis. What’s more disappointing is that our state leader’s response has been to score political points at the expense of the working poor.
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry declared a state emergency Friday for what he’s calling the “Schumer Shutdown,” placing the label of blame on the U.S. Senate’s Democratic party leader despite the GOP holding the majority in both chambers of Congress.
Landry’s declaration allows the Louisiana Legislature to pull together money to cover the pending loss of federal food assistance in November. But rather than address everyone in need, the governor went further in his emergency declaration to state it would focus on the “elderly, disabled and children” in the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program.
“I encourage our citizens to seek the thousands of new job opportunities across our State, and free themselves from these social programs that the Left uses as a weaponization tool to win political points,” Landry said in a statement accompanying his order.
To stand behind his statement, the governor must willingly ignore the significant portion of Louisiana residents among the working poor in a state with the nation’s highest poverty rate at 18.9%.
As of 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported 18.4% of Louisiana residents relied on SNAP benefits. The Landry administration puts the number at 17%, or roughly 793,000 residents.
The federal government doesn’t report how many people with jobs rely on federal food aid by state, but its 2023 data found 28% of SNAP recipients nationwide had earned income. That would indicate a significant number who are working but still need the assistance.
These figures don’t include federal employees and contract workers furloughed during the government shutdown who are increasingly turning to food banks.
In response to the governor’s declaration, Republican leaders in the legislature recognized a broader need. They advanced a resolution Friday that will direct $150 million in state health department funds a month to cover the cost of SNAP as long as needed. Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, and House Speaker Phillip DeVillier, R-New Iberia, have coauthored the measure.
State Rep. Jack McFarland, R-Jonesboro, heads the legislative committee where the annual state budget originates, giving him perhaps the best perspective into how Louisiana government spends its money. Before asking his House colleague to back the resolution, he told them it was “imperative that today we … take necessary actions to do our jobs, to make sure we take care of them, the most vulnerable of our population.”
The resolution was approved in a 97-0 vote in the House of Representatives, and it will take its next procedural step Wednesday in the state Senate.
Still, the legislative vote is by no means a secure solution. Henry said it’s not clear yet where the SNAP money will come from in the health department budget. Plus, the Trump administration made clear Friday it’s not likely to reimburse states that use their own money to cover federal food assistance during the shutdown.
Yet Louisiana lawmakers appeared to set party politics aside to reach a solution. They will tap into a state reserve account, the Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund, to cover money the health department spends on SNAP in November and to pay for any future benefits if the federal shutdown continues. There’s more than $2.7 billion currently in the fund.
“It’s a choice between using money that we have or people going hungry,” Henry told the Illuminator. “That’s why we have the fund balances that we have.”
Lawmakers are currently in a special session on elections, but the governor’s declaration allows them to address the SNAP emergency. Landry specifically mentioned the use of the Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund in his order.
If more state money is needed to cover SNAP in months to come, legislators will have to vote remotely to approve these withdrawals. That process could last days, meaning the balloting process will have to be proactive to avoid a lapse in benefits.
It could also depend on Landry extending the state of emergency, which is currently set to lapse Nov. 4. Its duration covers the first of the month, when SNAP benefits are typically issued for the elderly, disabled and children ahead of other recipients – like the working poor.
While there’s some comfort in knowing state legislators are preparing for a worst-case scenario, it’s troublesome that our governor is putting terms on that assistance – get a job or go hungry.
It seems to be lost on Landry that in Louisiana, you can do both.
