Missouri under fire after Gov. Kehoe touted SNAP aid that wasn’t new: ‘Shameful’
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe this week touted millions of dollars intended to help provide food assistance, a move championed by his supporters as more than half a million residents were poised to lose benefits due to the federal government shutdown.
But the announcement from Kehoe, a Republican, quickly came under criticism as lawmakers emphasized the money he promoted was not new. The $15.6 million in funding had already been approved by state lawmakers months ago to help with food assistance.
Democratic lawmakers have called Kehoe’s effort misleading and hollow, saying the money was also minuscule compared to the $130 million the state receives each month to provide federal food assistance to more than 650,000 residents.
“It was, quite frankly, shameful of Gov. Kehoe to step in and say, ‘look what I’m doing to help’ when he was doing absolutely nothing,” said Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern, a Kansas City Democrat.
The top Democrat in the Missouri Senate has now urged Kehoe to call on President Donald Trump to transfer federal funds to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which is slated to run out of money on Saturday.
“Every time the president has asked you for something, you have provided it without question,” Senate Minority Leader Doug Beck, an Affton Democrat, wrote in a letter to Kehoe on Thursday. “Now, it is time for you to ask the president for something.”
Beck said in the letter that Kehoe has shown “unflinching loyalty” to Trump this year, pointing to his willingness to gerrymander the state’s congressional map, authorize the National Guard to help with immigration deportations and other issues.
Amid the controversy in Missouri, a federal judge in Rhode Island on Friday ordered the Trump administration to continue paying for SNAP during the shutdown. The decision required the Trump administration to use emergency funding to pay benefits “as soon as possible” next month.
However, it remains unclear how soon the money is expected to reach the millions of people across the U.S. who rely on the federal program. The Justice Department has not indicated if it plans to appeal the decision, The New York Times reported on Friday.
Another federal judge in Massachusetts issued a similar ruling on Friday.
The mixed messaging and political back-and-forth come as the more than 650,000 Missouri residents who rely on federal food assistance were, as of early Friday, expected to be unable to access their payment next month due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, which began Oct. 1.
As lawmakers and top officials at the federal and state levels attempt to shift blame, the shutdown is poised to upend social services across the country.
In Jackson County alone, $19 million in SNAP benefits were not expected to be distributed in November, according to officials with Harvesters, a food bank in Kansas City that serves 27 counties in Missouri and Kansas. That’s more than what Harvesters raises in charitable donations for an entire year, officials said.
Inside Missouri’s announcement
Kehoe’s announcement on Wednesday said his administration would transfer $10.6 million to Missouri Area Agencies on Aging, a move intended to provide meals to seniors during the shutdown.
Kehoe’s press release also referenced a $5 million distribution to Missouri’s food banks using federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, funding.
The Republican governor’s announcement was widely shared and celebrated.
“Thank you @GovMikeKehoe for transferring millions of dollars in emergency food assistance for Missourians,” Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, a Republican, wrote on social media.
But both funding mechanisms had already been approved for these efforts by state lawmakers earlier this year. However, Kehoe’s maneuver did expedite the process during the shutdown, critics acknowledged in interviews with The Star.
Rep. Betsy Fogle, a Springfield Democrat, said the expedited funding just means that Missouri will have less money going to these services for the remainder of the year.
“I do not believe that what the governor did will have any significant impact on the families who wake up in November not able to feed themselves and their kids,” said Fogle.
A Kehoe spokesperson defended the governor’s action on Friday, saying the move provided expedited funding to “organizations that are stepping up to assist Missourians” during the shutdown.
“It is correct to say that this is not enough funding to assist all SNAP recipients - reopening the federal government is the solution,” said spokesperson Gabby Picard, who added that Missouri does not have a mechanism to transfer state money directly to people who use SNAP.
Picard then went on to blame the shutdown on Democrats, saying Beck should instead direct a letter to U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and “the D.C. Democrats.”
House Speaker Jonathan Patterson, a Lee’s Summit Republican, said the controversy over Kehoe’s announcement illustrated the ongoing blame game between Republicans and Democrats over the government shutdown.
“The governor is doing what he can and Beck wants to frame it in the worst way possible,” said Patterson. “Ultimately, this is on Congress and they need to get this resolved.”
But as the shutdown lurches through its fifth week, and legislators direct blame at each other, food pantries across the Kansas City area are left to grapple with the fallout.
KC food bank, pantries scramble
The impact of federal cuts and the government shutdown have been felt by food banks and their partners across the country for weeks. Add to that the looming suspension of SNAP benefits and agencies are scrambling to figure out how to provide the food they know will be needed.
Jury Paulson, director of community impact at Harvesters, said partners of the food bank — including pantries, shelters and soup kitchens — are anxious right now.
The reality of the numbers has set in. For every one meal the food bank provides, SNAP benefits provide nine.
“You can’t have that all fall off and then expect it to be absorbed by the food banks and their agency partners,” Paulson said. “It’s just unsustainable.”
Earlier this week, some shelves inside Harvesters’ warehouse were sparse or even empty. And pantries and churches are fielding calls from people wondering what they can do and how much food will be available.
“Unfortunately, it’s one of those things where we’re all gearing up to do what we can, but we have less with which we can do already,” Paulson said. “We’re going to keep turning over those rocks and work with our community partners to see where there’s additional resources.
“We are just doing what we can, but it’s sometimes a tough message to share that we can only do so much.”
Harvesters said it has reached out to some of the larger pantries in the Kansas City area and asked them if they can take on more during this time. Or if they can extend pantry hours so people can access food after work or on their days off.
When the government shutdown ends, or if a temporary solution comes to provide assistance to SNAP recipients, that doesn’t mean food benefits would return immediately.
“States have said that there’s around a 72-hour timeline in order to get the funds reinstated,” said Elizabeth Keever, chief resource officer with Harvesters.
Paulson urged people to reach out however they can to “support your local food bank or the local pantries and partners.”
“Please, please do,” Paulson said.
