Louisiana will use $150 million in state funds to create a temporary assistance program to provide benefits to some Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients in November amid the federal government shutdown.
At a news conference Wednesday, Gov. Jeff Landry announced the creation of the program after the Louisiana House and Senate approved a resolution that would allow the Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) to pull the funds from the LDH’s budget and the state’s Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund to “address the suspension of SNAP benefits resulting from the federal government shutdown.”
The Louisiana House voted unanimously on Friday, while the state Senate approved it Wednesday morning, 32-1. Sen. Jay Morris, R-Monroe, was the lone no vote.
The move makes Louisiana one of eight states — and the only state in the Gulf South — to fund SNAP benefits for residents or provide additional funding for food banks during the shutdown. Neighboring states Alabama and Mississippi have both opted not to provide assistance.
The program prioritizes households with children, the elderly and disabled people, which make up a majority — but not all — of Louisiana’s nearly 800,000 SNAP recipients. A breakdown of recipients in the resolution says it costs $145 million per month to pay benefits for 356,000 households with children, 88,000 elderly residents and 120,000 disabled residents.
“Our priorities are very specific,” Landry said. “We’re going to protect the most vulnerable population in Louisiana, which is our kids, our elderly and the disabled. We’re going to lead the nation in the way we take care of people.”
Louisiana Senate President Cameron Henry praised the bipartisan effort to push this legislation through in a matter of days. The Louisiana Legislature was already in a special session to discuss moving 2026 election days back by a month in anticipation of a U.S. Supreme Court decision on whether or not Louisiana’s current congressional map, with two majority Black districts, is unconstitutional.
“I think being able to address this SNAP program quickly and efficiently, like we did to make sure that those cards are loaded on November 1, is a great step for Louisiana,” Henry said. “ I think it was a great bipartisan measure that the folks in D.C. should pick up on.”
Landry said the temporary state program will use SNAP infrastructure, but will not run directly through SNAP. The state will distribute a month’s worth of funds between November 1-4 directly onto eligible recipients’ Louisiana Purchase EBT cards.
About 53,000 “able-bodied” households will not receive benefits during the distribution period, Landry said. He suggested those recipients look for employment, touting that the state “currently has over 100,000 new job opportunities.” “My message to able-bodied people who may not be employed but who are utilizing [SNAP], is that you should go out and search for one of those jobs,” Landry said. “You can go to… Louisiana’s workforce website, and you can access information there.”
Landry also suggested that those who won’t receive the state benefits seek help from local food banks. He said the state has an announcement concerning charity work with food banks planned for Thursday morning, but did not elaborate further.
Language in the resolution includes the words “per month” in reference to LDH’s permission to use up to $150 million to pay for benefits, but it’s not clear at this time if this is a one-time payment or if SNAP recipients can expect a disbursement in December if the shutdown continues through November.
During the news conference, Landry repeatedly placed blame for the shutdown and stalling of SNAP funds on “the decisions that [Democratic Sen. and Senate Minority leader] Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democrats are making in Washington, D.C.”
When confirming reports that LDH and the Louisiana Workforce Commission would be furloughing employees who work with SNAP programming or whose positions are funded by SNAP-related federal funding, he blamed Schumer.
About 1,100 employees will be impacted, Landry said, adding that the SNAP office will be closed for the rest of the shutdown, though a small crew of employees will be kept on to make sure there isn’t a disruption of services.
“There’s really nothing for those people to do, because the federal government won’t open,” Landry said. “We don’t have to furlough them if Chuck Schumer opens the government up. He’s got a couple more days.”
WRKF's Alex Cox and Brooke Thorington contributed to this report.
