Austin A. Davis 35th Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania Department Of Education
Following legal action initiated by Governor Josh Shapiro against the Trump Administration for suspending the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis is set to join Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding and Department of Human Services leadership in a news conference on Wednesday, October 29. The event will take place at 1 p.m. at the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank in Harrisburg.
The state officials plan to urge the federal government to restore funding for SNAP, which supports nearly two million Pennsylvanians. According to state data, about 714,000 children and 697,000 seniors depend on SNAP each month in Pennsylvania. The program distributes over $366 million monthly in federal food assistance funds, a cost that state officials say cannot be covered by the Commonwealth alone.
Recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture informed states that it would not fund November SNAP benefits due to an ongoing federal shutdown. Last week, USDA also indicated it would not implement its contingency plan to use Congressionally appropriated funds for SNAP during the shutdown.
Lt. Gov. Austin Davis will appear alongside Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding, DHS Deputy Secretary for Income Maintenance Hoa Pham, Central Pennsylvania Food Bank CEO Shila Ulrich, and individuals affected by these changes.
The news conference aims to call on Republicans in Washington D.C. to end the federal government shutdown and ensure continued funding for SNAP so that nearly two million Pennsylvanians can continue receiving food assistance.
Members of the media interested in attending are asked to RSVP to Kirstin Alvanitakis at kirstinalv@pa.gov.
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