Just three days before the federal government is set to freeze monthly food assistance to 757,000 Oregonians, Gov. Tina Kotek announced she’ll send $5 million in state money to food banks to soften the blow.

Kotek joins the governors of at least 12 other mostly Democrat-led states — including Washington and California — in diverting millions in state money to backfill the lost federal funding to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, starting Saturday.

Approximately one in six Oregonians and one in eight Americans rely on the program, commonly referred to as food stamps, to stave off hunger. Each month, Oregonians typically receive about $142 million in federally funded SNAP benefits, so $5 million won’t come close to bridging the gap.

In her announcement Wednesda

See Full Page