Gov. Josh Shapiro joined volunteers and other elected officials Thursday morning in Pittston to pack grocery boxes at the Weinberg Northeast Regional Food Bank.
“More tape over here,” called state Rep. Kyle Mullins from his station at the end of the assembly line, as Shapiro packed boxes with canned and boxed foods.
The Governor did more than volunteer.
He gave an update on the state’s efforts to support Pennsylvanians and food banks across the Commonwealth, as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits are paused for more than 2 million Pennsylvanians due to the government shutdown. In addition to the $5 million in emergency funds he pledged to the state's food banks last week, he started a fundraising campaign.
"My administration has asked leaders in the private sector to add on to the dollars that we're putting into the food banks, to help those meals grow and help those dollars go further," Shapiro said.
Pennsylvania's SNAP Emergency Relief Fund
Since opening the relief fund to donations from the private sector, his administration has raised about $2 million. The SNAP Emergency Relief Fund is now open for anyone who wants to donate, and all proceeds will go to Feeding Pennsylvania. The non-profit will then distribute the funds to the state’s charitable food network.
“Weinberg alone is receiving nearly $289,000 in emergency funds that translates into 337,000 more meals for Pennsylvanians here in the northeastern part of our Commonwealth. But let me be clear, our Pennsylvania food banks, despite doing the Lord's work, they cannot meet the need that is left with SNAP not being funded,” Shapiro said.
Jennifer Warabak, the CEO of the Commission on Economic Opportunity and the Weinberg Northeast Regional Food Bank, thanked the governor for his administration’s support.
“Food banks like ours and the organizations we partner with on the front lines are witnessing an unprecedented surge in demand. The pressure on food banks is mounting with increased need against a backdrop of dwindling supplies,” Warabak said.
Volunteers of America Pennsylvania partners with Weinberg. Crystal Kotlowski, the organization’s COO, said Volunteers of America Pa. has been struggling, even before SNAP benefits were paused.
“Five years ago, our food bank in Wilkes-Barre served about 80 households a month. Today, we serve more than 800 households every month. Earlier this year, we were forced to reduce our hours because we simply could not keep food on the shelves much longer than an hour,” Kotlowski said.
SNAP benefits on pause nationally
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced in mid-October that the federal government would not be able to pay states for November's SNAP benefits due to the government shutdown. The program is 100% federally funded.
“It's cold-hearted, and by the way, it's not the Pennsylvania way,” Shapiro said of the SNAP pause.
More than 2 million Pennsylvanians receive SNAP benefits. As of September 2025, more than 140,000 SNAP recipients lived in U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan’s congressional district and nearly 115,000 in U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser’s, according to the state’s Department of Human Services. Bresnahan’s district has the most SNAP recipients of any Republican-led congressional district in the state. The two lawmakers are both based in Luzerne County, representing the 8th and 9th Districts, respectively.
Shapiro joined a multistate lawsuit at the end of October challenging the Trump administration’s decision to not tap into a $6 million contingency fund to continue paying for SNAP through the shutdown.
Two federal judges ruled that the Trump administration would have to pay states for SNAP. The Trump administration responded, saying it would use $5 billion to pay SNAP recipients only half of their normal benefits.
Today, the Trump administration announced that payments will only be cut by 35% rather than 50%.
But later in the day, a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration must pay full benefits to the states by Friday.
USDA warned states that it could take weeks or even months to distribute this month’s payments because of its partial funding formula.
“Now the United States Department of Agriculture is actually telling states that we have to jump through a whole bunch of bureaucratic hoops that, by their own admission, will delay snap payments for more than one month. That's their own admission. They're also giving us unclear and conflicting guidance that confuses the process even more,” Shapiro said.
Pennsylvania’s Secretary of the Department of Human Services Val Arkoosh sent a letter to USDA regarding the projected delays. The Department of Human Services administers SNAP benefits in Pennsylvania.
“This will only further delay availability of food assistance for nearly 2 million Pennsylvanians who are currently not receiving benefits to which they are entitled, and result in wasted taxpayer dollars and long-term harm to Pennsylvania’s SNAP program,” Arkoosh said in the letter obtained by WVIA’s partners in Pittsburgh, WESA.
Shapiro encouraged Pennsylvanians with the means to do so to donate to the emergency relief fund.
“I want to encourage everyone who's lucky enough to be able to put food on their table for them and their families to take a moment and do something for your neighbor. Perhaps you've got the means to be able to donate to that private fund. Perhaps you have the time to be able to come and volunteer here and help pack boxes. Because of the increased number of boxes, they need more volunteers here. And if you can donate some food that our food banks can use, I encourage you to do so as well,” he said.
“For anyone out there who is worried about being able to put food on your table. There is no shame in this. There is no stigma that should be associated with this. We know you need help, and we want you to have this help,” he continued.
Shapiro said Tuesday’s election results will usher in change and “hopefully reverse these damaging cuts.”
“I did take note of the fact that Luzerne County Council had a dramatic shift as a result of the election,’ Shapiro said. “The people of Pennsylvania and Luzerne County… voted for two things. Number one, they voted for more freedom and protection of their rights when they voted to retain the three Supreme Court justices. And second, they voted for people in their community they believe are going to get stuff done for them. I think you juxtapose that with the chaos folks are seeing coming out of DC, and what they want are leaders here who are going to fight for them, get stuff done for them, and protect their fundamental freedoms and rights.”
Pennsylvanians can use pa-navigate.org to find resources. Call 211 or visit pa211.org to get connected to local resources.
Visit https://www.wvia.org/news/local/2025-10-30/government-shutdown-watch-snap-benefits-on-pause-for-more-than-2-million-pennsylvanians for a resource list including food pantries, food drives, free meals and where to donate.
