It is nearing day 30 of the federal government shutdown. Federal SNAP benefits end Saturday, Nov. 1. Montgomery County Council members have now announced $7.75 million in funding for local organizations to offset some of the financial impact of the shutdown and help with resources like food and LGBTQIA services.
“Our federal government is not only saying to us, ‘You are on your own,’ but that our federal government right now, this Trump administration, is also actively going after and targeting members of our community,” said Council President Kate Stewart during a Tuesday press conference at the council building in Rockville. The federal workforce is feeling trauma, said Stewart. “This administration has said they want them to feel trauma,” she continued, noting how immigrant families are being torn apart and basic LGBTQIA rights and services are being denied.
Under the county funding package, $3.5 million will go toward food assistance, $2.25 million will go to nonprofits, $1 million is for short-term housing support, $500,000 is for the MoCo Pride Center, and another $500,000 is for business development and expansion.
“We’re seeing people who’ve never come to our doors before, who are knocking on our warehouse doors and asking for assistance,” said Manna Food Center CEO Craig Rice. “These kinds of funds will help us to be able to see those families more quickly, get them the assistance that’s necessary, and get them on a track toward self-sustainability,” he said.
MoCo Pride Center CEO Phillip Alexander Downie told MCM the funding ensures programs like Trans Maryland have resources to continue to serve the community and ensures there is no disruption in services.
Trans Maryland offers a name and gender marker change program. The group covers the cost of the process for those who cannot afford it, and includes related services for government issued documents, like obtaining a new passport.
“We are in a very small window of time when transgender people can get their correct passport, their correct information, such as their gender marker on a U.S. passport,” said Trans Maryland Executive Director Lee Blinder, who cited the court case Orr v. Trump for reference.
The council will introduce the funding package Nov. 4, followed by a public hearing and council vote Nov. 18. The money will come from the county’s reserve funds.
“We will not be able to replace all the funds that have been lost because of federal administrative policies,” said Stewart. During an earlier briefing Tuesday, County Chief Administrative Officer Rich Madaleno said the county does not have the funds to backfill SNAP benefits with what the federal government will not pay out during the shutdown. He also said that the county does not have the capability add money to SNAP cards.
