PHOENIX – Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs announced Wednesday she is allocating $1.8 million to mitigate the potential suspension of federal food assistance funding due to the government shutdown.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture told states funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would run dry if the shutdown isn’t resolved by Saturday. Additionally, the Trump administration rejected the idea of using roughly $5 billion in contingency funds for SNAP into November, according to a Department of Agriculture memo that surfaced last week.

Nearly 900,000 Arizonans — 12% of the state’s population — receive SNAP benefits totaling approximately $150 million each month. About 40% of that goes toward feeding children.

“The state of Arizona does not have the

See Full Page