Washington state will give food banks $2.2 million per week as they deal with the potential end of food stamp benefits due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.

The Trump administration says it can’t fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, starting Saturday, despite billions of dollars in reserves. This is expected to send Washington’s SNAP recipients to local food banks and pantries to feed their families.

In May, the most recent month for which federal data is available, over 905,000 Washingtonians received a total of $167 million in SNAP benefits.

Food banks are already seeing heightened demand and preparing for broader Republican-backed cuts to SNAP that are still to come.

Gov. Bob Ferguson on Tuesday directed the state Department of Social and Health Ser

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