Two federal judges ruled in separate cases Friday that the Trump administration must continue to pay for the FoodShare program during the government shut down.
But Milwaukee County continues to brace for the ongoing affects of the shutdown. And how and when the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, funding will be distributed remains unclear.
Milwaukee County leaders urged Congress to act Friday morning, one day before more than 700,000 Wisconsinites will lose access to food assistance payments.
News with a little more humanity
WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” newsletter keeps you connected to the state you love without feeling overwhelmed. No paywall. No agenda. No corporate filter.
About 230,000 of those people live in Milwaukee County, said County Executive David Crowley. Thousands of other county residents depend on government health insurance and federal housing to survive.
“Those are our neighbors. Those are our children and our loved ones who don’t know how they’re going to feed their families next month as we enter a new holiday season,” Crowley said Friday during a press conference at the NourishMKE Cherry Street Food Center.
Valerie MacMillian, who runs NourishMKE, says they’ve seen three times as many people visiting food centers in recent months, and many are first-time visitors.
MacMillian said the rise reflects the broader challenges facing Milwaukee County residents.
“What we’re facing today is the first of many upcoming challenges we are predicting with the loss of health care tax subsidies set to take effect at year’s end,” MacMillian said. “We foresee many more people needing our services. Your ability to access food should not depend on your politics.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last week that SNAP would be on hold because of the ongoing government shutdown.
Gov. Tony Evers wrote a letter to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, urging the Trump administration to use discretionary dollars to fund the program.
Wisconsin also signed on to a multistate lawsuit demanding those funds be used.
Democratic Congresswoman Gwen Moore was in Milwaukee on Friday.
She said even if a judge ruled in favor or releasing SNAP funding money — about $5 billion — it would still only fund the program through the third week of November.
Moore said it is time for President Trump to act.
“That same black Sharpie that the president used to hire those contractors to tear up the Rose Garden and the East Wing, that same Sharpie can go authorize the release of the $5 billion for SNAP,” Moore said.
When asked, Moore said she does not see a quick ending to the stalemate between congressional Democrats and Republicans, keeping the government from reopening.
The extension of Affordable Care Act tax credit subsidies are a key point in the ongoing shutdown. Democrats refuse to support a stopgap funding bill without them.
Republicans have roundly blamed Democrats for the standoff and stressed that the subsidies in question were never meant to be permanent.
On Tuesday, the city and county teamed up with Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin to host a local food drive.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said they have raised $22,000 — enough to provide 90,000 meals.
“So this community is stepping up,” Johnson said. “Milwaukee is stepping up in the face of this government shutdown. We still need the federal government to do their part.”
Wisconsin Public Radio, © Copyright 2025, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.
