More than 650K Missourians will lose food assistance next month amid shutdown

Kacen Bayless, The Kansas City Star on Oct 20, 2025

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More than half a million Missouri residents who rely on federal food assistance will be unable to access their payment next month due to the federal government shutdown.

The Missouri Department of Social Services announced the change Monday afternoon, citing communications from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service.

The federal agency informed states that November payments through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, cannot be issued, Missouri said in its announcement.

The extraordinary change is poised to leave more than 650,000 Missouri residents without access to SNAP payments next month as the federal shutdown stretches into its third week. Residents in states across the country are likely to be impacted, but neighboring Kansas had not yet made a similar announcement.

“We are closely monitoring this situation, and benefits will be issued as soon as federal funds become available,” Jess Bax, Missouri’s DSS director, said in a statement. “We encourage SNAP participants to look at the potential of using their October balance to stretch into November if possible given this situation.”

The SNAP program provides monthly food assistance to help low-income residents afford groceries, averaging about $196 per person a month last year, according to the Missouri Budget Project. While administered by state agencies, the payments are funded through the federal government.

The announcement came after the federal government shut down Oct. 1 after Congress failed to pass legislation to fund operations. The standoff has shuttered national parks, left thousands of Kansas City federal workers without pay and is now poised to upend social services around the country.

DSS, in its Monday announcement, encouraged Missouri residents who rely on food assistance to review local food resources such as food banks and pantries and monitor the agency’s website for more information.

At least one organization said the state’s food banks had prepared for increased demand amid the federal shutdown.

“We stand ready to help neighbors as far as our resources allow,” Joey Keys, the board chair of Feeding Missouri and CEO of Southeast Missouri Food Bank, said in a statement. “However, we cannot do this alone. Now, more than ever we need our communities to support their food banks.”

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