Despite the federal government’s refusal to use emergency funds to send out federal food aid, Louisiana residents remain hopeful that they will receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, better known as food stamps, in the first few days of November.

The optimism comes from Governor Jeff Landry asking the state legislature to authorize $150 million of state money to subsidize Louisiana SNAP benefits for November, after declaring a state of emergency to fund the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

However, Landry specifically asked that distribution be from November 1 through November 4, and limited the funds to go to children, the elderly, and disabled people, which make up a majority — but not all — of Louisiana SNAP recipients.

The state legislature, which is in an unrelated special session, unanimously passed the measure (97-0) on Friday, October 24th, and now the issue is with the Senate, which is expected to take up the matter on Wednesday, October 29th. Confident that the resolution will pass, Governor Landry has scheduled a new conference for Wednesday at 2:00 pm to address the situation. 

The decision carries great weight among Louisiana residents as it is estimated that nearly 800,000 people in Louisiana receive SNAP benefits. Of those roughly 565,000 are either children, the elderly, or disabled.