Faced with a new Trump administration order that states must “immediately undo” food stamp funds released Friday, Hawaiʻi is asking people to first spend what they are going to get Monday in emergency assistance from the state.

Food stamps were frozen as of Nov. 1, causing advocates for the poor to suggest the state’s urging to rely on the state emergency aid before dipping into federal funds is unrealistic.

“It’s possibly already gone. They’ve already been banking up a week or not having funds already,” said Nate Hix, director of policy and advocacy at the Hawaiʻi Public Health Institute. “The state said to use them, so I’m assuming they did that.”

Asked specifically whether residents with SNAP can continue to use their November benefits from the federal government, Joe Campos, deputy director of the department that manages both the federal SNAP program and Hawaii’s new emergency assistance program, said: “We are unsure what will happen if they attempt to use the federal SNAP benefits going forward.”

He added that “the state will assess what to do should there be any adverse effects” related to use of SNAP benefits.

Campos urged recipients to spend the $250 per person being activated on their EBT cards Monday through the Hawaiʻi Emergency Food Assistance Program, launched to cushion the impact of the federal shutdown.

“Whatever happens with SNAP, the $250 per person is available for you to spend,” he said.

With the federal shutdown in its sixth week, food stamps have taken center stage in the political battle and Hix said local SNAP recipients have been whiplashed.

“It’s chaos because people have no idea of what’s going on or what to expect,” he said.

Hawaiʻi was among the states that began to send out payments Friday after a federal judge ordered the administration to fully fund November SNAP benefits and the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it was working to do that. In September, Hawaiʻi SNAP recipients — there are about 162,000 — received an average of $343 each.

Later Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court paused that court order. Trump officials issued their demand late Saturday, saying states must “immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits” for November and instead issue 65% of the payments.

The demand came with a threat of penalties, including being held liable for the difference between full and partial payments, and for the federal government’s share of administering the SNAP program. The assistance program is federally funded but largely managed by the states.

Sen. Brian Schatz condemned the Trump administration’s latest move, saying Sunday that the USDA’s contingency fund would cover the November payments and noting that courts had ordered it to be used for that purpose.

“This is inhumane and illogical. The money is there, and we should use it to feed hungry Hawaiʻi citizens,” Schatz said in a statement. “We need to put politics aside and make sure everybody can eat.”

Across the nation, some SNAP recipients living in states that went forward said they had not yet received their benefits. Hawaiʻi officials announced Saturday that they had not “received reports of widespread issues” with SNAP recipients having EBT transactions declined but were “monitoring the situation closely.” On Sunday, DHS spokesperson Amanda Stevens said the department still hadn’t received any reports.

The Hawaiʻi emergency food program is to be paid for through the state’s general fund and a surplus in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families cash welfare program. It is part of an array of resources available starting today for residents under financial strain from missing paychecks and SNAP benefits. They include a state program to help with utility or housing costs and an initiative to assist Native Hawaiians.

Hix said the state deserves credit for stepping up with the emergency fund.

“We’re very appreciative of their support and doing the best they can to help people,” he said. “And it’s absolute madness that they have to be yanked around like this by the feds.”

The Hawaiʻi Emergency Food Assistance Program

The $42.2 million program will automatically give $250 to every current food stamp recipient in the state, placing the funds on existing SNAP debit cards. For example, a family of four that has been getting SNAP would receive $1,000. That payment is to be “activated” on EBT cards Monday, Campos said.

Households can view any remaining SNAP balance from October as well as the pending state assistance payments through the EBT Edge online portal or mobile app. And starting Monday, SNAP recipients seeking information about the emergency fund and to check the status of their payment can call a new hotline Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. That hotline number is 1-855-643-1643.

Information about the emergency food assistance program also can be found at 211, a hotline run by Aloha United Way. The line is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

Hawaiʻi Relief Fund

A separate $100 million Hawaiʻi Relief Fund will help eligible residents with dependent children under 18 make housing and utility payments. That program is open to any eligible resident, including people whose paychecks have been interrupted by the shutdown. To qualify, a household has to also be below 300% of the federal poverty line; for a family of four, that’s an annual income of just under $111,000.

Aid payments will go directly to utility companies and landlords or lenders, in the case of mortgages, and will not affect income eligibility for other benefit programs. Applicants need to provide documents including government-issued identification, proof of income and lease or mortgage statements.

The state human services department is partnering with Catholic Charities Hawaiʻi to manage the fund and application process on Oʻahu, the county of Hawaiʻi and Kauaʻi. The nonprofit partner for Maui County is Maui Economic Opportunity.

More information about the relief fund program can be found by calling the same 211 hotline.

Oʻahu, Big Island and Kauaʻi residents can also reach Hawaiʻi Relief Fund staff at 808-521-4357, extension 1, or hrp.mail@catholiccharitieshawaii.org. To apply online, go here.  

In Maui County, residents can also call 808-243-4357 for information, or email Housing.utility@meoinc.org or go to this website. To apply online go here.

OHA Emergency Relief Fund

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has also announced a $6.1 million emergency fund for Native Hawaiians affected by the shutdown — including those who get SNAP — who are not eligible for the Hawaiʻi Relief Fund because they don’t have dependent children.

Roughly 46,000 Native Hawaiians receive SNAP benefits, according to OHA, but slightly more than 12,000 will not be eligible for the relief fund program. About 5,200 of the nearly 25,000 federal employees in the state also are Native Hawaiian.

The OHA program will make payments of up to $350 to kūpuna age 60 and older, low-income adults or disabled residents who receive SNAP benefits but are excluded from the state relief program.

Furloughed federal civilian workers who are Native Hawaiian and earn no more than 400% of the federal poverty level — or about $148,000 for a household of four people — are eligible for payments of up to $1,200.

Applications open Monday. To get more information or apply for the program, go here or email kokua@oha.org.

Other Food Assistance Programs

Statewide

• Aloha United Way, Call 211

Oʻahu

• Hale Na’au Pono, Waiʻanae Coast, 808-465-9409
• Hawaiʻi Foodbank, 808-836-3600
• Helping Hands Hawaiʻi, 808-440-3812
• Lanakila Pacific, 808-356-8581
• Project Vision Hawaiʻi, 808-201-3937
• The Pantry by Feeding Hawaiʻi Together, 808-888-0778
• Central Union Church, 808-941-0957

Maui

• Project Vision Hawaiʻi, 808-201-3937
• Maui Food Bank, 808-243-9500

Hawaiʻi Island

• The Food Basket, Hilo 808-933-6030 / Kona 808-322-1418
• Vibrant Hawaiʻi, 802-365-1808

Kauaʻi

• Hawaiʻi Foodbank Kauaʻi, 808-482-2224
• Kaua’i Independent Food Bank, 808-246-3809

NOTE: This list will be updated. Please get in touch with reporter Jeremy Hay if your organization is helping, too, at jhay@civilbeat.org.

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to clarify the state’s stance related to federal SNAP benefits sent out on Friday.