Delay in SNAP benefits worries elderly West Virginians

By Nadia Ramlagan –

When Casey Russell visited her Clarksburg food pantry on Tuesday, shelves were already thinning. She didn’t receive the usual supply of fresh meat and canned goods she depends on to feed three grandchildren and one great-grandchild, all of whom she raises full time.
She also relies on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, but those funds won’t arrive later this month due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.
“I’m terrified,” said Russell, 55, who adopted the four children in 2021. “I’m just going to try to go to different food pantries if I can. It’s hard for me because I don’t drive, so I have to find a ride. I just may not be able to pay some bills because of it, to buy food, you know?”
About 270,000 West Virginians—roughly one in six residents—use SNAP benefits, including many seniors aged 60 and older. Half of all SNAP households in the state include a disabled or elderly member, a rate higher than the national average.
“I think it’s going to affect quite a few of our seniors greatly,” said Beth Fitzgerald, executive director of the Harrison County Senior Center.
The West Virginia Department of Human Services announced on social media that delays in issuing October SNAP benefits should be expected. When asked if the state could cover the cost of SNAP during the shutdown, Drew Galang, spokesperson for Gov. Patrick Morrisey, said West Virginia and other states lack the funding to do so. He attributed the delay to congressional gridlock.
Galang encouraged residents to seek help through Family Resource Network centers and food pantries, and to contact their caseworkers for additional support. On Thursday, Morrisey said he would expedite previously appropriated funds to food pantries, though no new state money has been allocated.
In Harrison County, Fitzgerald noted that rising food prices have strained the senior center’s pantry. “We’re probably going to see an increase in people coming to the pantry for food,” she said. “I don’t know if we can meet the need.”
West Virginia has a high number of grandparents raising grandchildren, often due to the state’s drug epidemic. More than 100,000 SNAP recipients in the state are children.
C. Sergent, 58, has legal custody of two grandchildren, ages 2 and 15. “I don’t know how I’m going to feed my family,” she said. “Because we already struggle, and this is going to make it worse.”
Hanna Thurman, executive director of the Healthy Grandfamilies program at West Virginia State University, said many grandparents are on fixed incomes and already face food insecurity. “This just makes it all the more difficult to make the choices that they’re having to make between food and medicine and utilities,” she said. Many also lack transportation to access food pickups.
Bobbi Holland, a board member for Meals on Wheels Inc. of Charleston, said the organization serves about 50 people and is at capacity. “We would love to do more but we are struggling to get volunteers,” she said.
SNAP delays are expected to continue into November, according to the Department of Human Services. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said she doesn’t expect the shutdown to end by Nov. 1. She added that the loss of SNAP and other federal benefits may be the “pressure point” needed to reopen the government.
At the heart of the impasse are subsidies that help thousands of West Virginians afford health insurance, which will expire unless Congress acts. Democrats say they won’t vote to reopen the government until Republicans agree to extend the tax credits.
According to the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, 67,000 residents who buy insurance through the marketplace would see premiums rise by 133%—or $1,400 annually—if subsidies expire. About 15,000 could lose coverage entirely.
In McDowell County, the Commission on Aging is preparing for increased demand. Executive director Donald Reed said the center already serves hot meals to over 200 seniors each weekday. “If those benefits don’t hit, we are prepared to feed those additional people who show up,” he said.
This article was written by Amelia Ferrell Knisely and Lori Kersey for West Virginia Watch