City Leaders Announce Emergency Funding Ahead of SNAP Cuts

The City of Indianapolis and other organizations are providing emergency funding for families in need in Marion County and surrounding areas.

Federal Funding For Food Assistance Programs To Run Out Starting Nov. 1, Due To Government Shutdown — Source: Spencer Platt / Getty

INDIANAPOLIS — The City of Indianapolis and other organizations are providing emergency funding for families in need in Marion County and surrounding areas.

This comes as SNAP benefits are set to expire on November 1.

“Very soon, tens of thousands of our friends and neighbors here in Indianapolis will be facing food insecurity,” Mayor Joe Hogsett said at a press conference on Thursday.

An estimated 600,000 Hoosiers depend on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP.

Here in Central Indiana, that number is 150,000.

“We want to make sure we’re addressing the most basic needs of our community, and food is our most basic need,” United Way President and CEO Fred Payne said.

United Way of Central Indiana announced Thursday that it launched a $1 million Food Relief Fund, thanks to donations from community funders.

“It shows that there’s a philanthropic heart in our community. When this organization sees that people are going to be in need, they respond. The way that they respond is a way of them saying they want to help people live the lives they’re capable of living,” Payne said.

The fund will support three major food organizations: