DOVER — Governor Matt Meyer declared a state of emergency to ensure that food assistance benefits for 120,000 Delawareans stay in place during the federal government shutdown.

Under the emergency order, Delaware will be able to release funding for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits on a weekly basis. Federal funding for the program was thrown into uncertainty amid the ongoing government shutdown, with SNAP set to be suspended on Nov. 1.

Delaware receives $21.6 million per month for SNAP. It will cost $5.6 million per week for Delaware to pay out the benefit for the state’s 60,000 SNAP households. He believes the state has the resources to handle the cost through November, but noted it won’t be possible to handle the resources for other federal programs like Head St

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