shutdown to affect food stamps

Oct 5, 2013 9:43 AM

Hunger Task Force says hundreds-of-thousands of Wisconsinites could lose their food stamps next month, if the federal government shutdown drags on. In a statement, task force director Sherri Tussler said that 85-thousand Food-Share recipients would not have their benefit cards swiped for November, if the shutdown is continuing on October 17th. If the government is closed on the 18th, 85-thousand more Wisconsinites will not have their cards swiped for next month -- and so on. If the shutdown drags on all month, Tussler says 859-thousand low-income people in the state would be frozen out of their Food-Share benefits. The program is funded by Washington but it's run by the state. State officials have not commented on Tussler's observation. She said the overall economy would also be hurt if food stamp recipients are cut off. That's because Wisconsin grocers get over 178-million dollars a year in Food-Share purchases.