Government shutdown threatens food aid program relied on by millions of
families
[October 07, 2025]
By MORIAH BALINGIT and JONEL ALECCIA
WASHINGTON (AP) — A food aid program that helps more than 6 million
low-income mothers and young children will run out of federal money
within two weeks unless the government shutdown ends, forcing states to
use their own money to keep it afloat or risk it shutting down, experts
say.
The $8 billion Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants
and Children, also known as WIC, provides vouchers to buy infant formula
as well as fresh fruits and vegetables, low-fat milk and other healthy
staples that are often out of financial reach for low-income households.
The shutdown, which began Wednesday, coincided with the beginning of a
new fiscal year, meaning programs like WIC, which rely on annual
infusions from the federal government, are nearly out of money.
Currently, the program is being kept afloat by an $150 million
contingency fund, but experts say it could run dry quickly.
After that, states could step in to pay for the program and seek
reimbursement when a budget finally passes, but not all states say they
can afford to do so.
“We feel good about one to two weeks,” said Ali Hard, policy director
for the National WIC Association. “After that, we are very worried.”
WIC helps families buy more nutritious food
Taylor Moyer, a mother of three who recently separated from her husband,
has been receiving WIC since her first son was born nine years ago. She
said the program allowed her to feed her children nutritious food that
tends to be pricier than calorie-dense, processed options. It also
provided guidance when she struggled to breastfeed and counseled her on
how to handle her son's picky eating stage.
“There’s been times where I have sat back in my house and really
wondered how I was going to feed my family,” said Moyer, who works at
the LGBT Life Center in Virginia Beach, Virginia. “And I went to the
store with my WIC card ... I get rice, I got avocados, I got eggs, and I
made a balanced meal that was actually good.”
The shutdown came as Democrats and Republicans failed to pass a new
spending plan. Democratic lawmakers want to extend tax credits that make
health care cheaper for millions of Americans, and they want to reverse
deep cuts to Medicaid that were passed earlier this year. They refused
to sign on to any spending plan that did not include those provisions.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, blamed
Democrats for the shutdown and called them hypocritical because failing
to fund the federal government endangers so many health programs.
The WIC program, which has long had bipartisan support, aids those who
are pregnant, mothers and children under age 5. Research has tied it to
lower infant mortality, healthier birth weights, higher immunization
rates and better academic outcomes for children who participate. Nearly
half of those who are eligible don't enroll, often because they believe
they don't qualify or they can't reach a WIC office.
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A worker stocks produce before the opening of a market in San
Francisco, March 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)
 Some Republican lawmakers want to
cut WIC, which is targeted for elimination in Project 2025, the
influential policy blueprint authored by the man who's now President
Donald Trump’s budget chief. Trump’s budget request and the spending
plan backed by House Republicans would not fully fund the program.
They also want to cut funding for families to buy fresh fruits and
vegetables.
Some states pledge to plug gaps in food aid
In the event of an extended shutdown, several states have sought to
reassure WIC recipients that they will continue to receive benefits.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, said the state will pick up
the tab if federal funding runs out.
“I want those young families, those moms, to know that your WIC card
will continue to be good for the foreseeable future,” Lamont said.
“We’re making sure that the government does not take that away from
you.”
Mississippi also pledged current WIC recipients will continue
receiving benefits, but it temporarily suspended enrollment for new
participants except for those who are pregnant, breastfeeding or
seeking benefits for high-risk infants.
In Washington state, where a third of babies receive WIC benefits,
officials say they do not have the money to keep the program open.
“Washington WIC may be able to sustain benefits for one to two weeks
before a federal shutdown would force a full closure of the
program,” said Raechel Sims, a spokesperson for the state's
Department of Health. “If the shutdown lasts longer than that, DOH
does not have the ability to backfill WIC funding.”
Moyer, the mother from Virginia Beach, warned that ending the
program could be catastrophic for recipients.
“There is going to be infants skipping feeds. There is going to be
pregnant women skipping meals so that they can feed their toddlers,"
she said. “And it means that people are not going to have a balanced
and healthy diet.”
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Associated Press writer Susan Haigh in Hartford, Conn., contributed
to this report.
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