How Would a Government Shutdown Impact Food and Nutrition Access in Iowa?

10/14/2025 Update: The state of Iowa has indicated it will cover the costs of WIC for the time being, but this could change in the event of a more prolonged shutdown. USDA has indicated to states they will reimburse them for costs covered during the shutdown. USDA also issued an October 10 memo to state SNAP agency directors informing them that there will be insufficient funds to cover November SNAP benefits for all 42 million Americans enrolled in the program. States have been directed not to submit November SNAP benefits to payment processors. We will provide more information as it becomes available.

With Congress hurtling toward a shutdown of the federal government, we wanted to provide some information on how a government shutdown might impact food and nutrition access in Iowa. While many questions remain, here’s what we know at this point.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

More than any other federal nutrition program, WIC is at risk of halting benefits and reducing program services in the event of a government shutdown. While both the state and federal government usually have contingency funds available to cover benefits on a temporary basis, this shutdown could be unique, given that it’s happening at the start of a new federal fiscal year.

The National WIC Association estimates there may be enough contingency and carryover funds to keep WIC funded for one week. However, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has stated to media that all WIC funding will stop effective October 1st and new applicants to the program will be rejected.

There are about 63,000 Iowans who currently rely on WIC to help them meet their nutritional needs, with over half of those individuals being children and infants.

It is unclear if WIC funding would be immediately halted, with no benefits going out on October 1st, or if the state may be able to provide some temporary benefits in October that would quickly run dry in the event of a more lengthy shutdown.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

SNAP benefits for October are safe and should not be impacted by a shutdown. If a prolonged shutdown were to occur, USDA could explore contingency funding options for November, and future months’ SNAP benefits would be even less certain.

During President Trump’s first term in office, the United States experienced the longest government shutdown in history, which lasted for 35 days. In that instance, the USDA directed states to issue their SNAP benefits for February 2019 early. A prolonged shutdown could eventually halt the issuance of SNAP benefits entirely, but that situation has never happened before.

Some retailers could be prevented from accepting SNAP during a shutdown, as we saw in 2019, if they are unable to renew their license renewal with USDA, which is required every five years.

Other Nutrition Programs

Other nutrition programs, such as the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), and Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) would similarly not be immediately impacted by a shutdown of the federal government, but if a drawn-out shutdown were to occur, we could see future negative impacts further down the road.