Michiganders, food banks brace looming SNAP food stamp pause

The federal government directed the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to pause November SNAP benefits until further notice.

SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, provides benefits to low-income families, including 1.4 million people in Michigan.

The looming pause in food assistance benefits for 1.4 million Michiganders next month has families all across the state anxiously scrambling to plan and food pantries preparing to serve more people.

The federal government directed the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to pause November SNAP benefits until further notice — a move that "will be felt around the state," MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel said last week. The state received word from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture that, due to the federal government shutdo