Spokane food banks expect surge of need as federal funding for SNAP benefits set to run out by November

SPOKANE, Wash. — The Washington State Department of Social and Health Services says if the government shutdown continues past October 31, it will not be able to distribute food benefits like SNAP.

That has local food pantries, like Partners Inland Northwest in Spokane Valley, worried about a surge in demand.

Washington DSHS says nearly 1 million people receive food assistance benefits. In Spokane County, DSHS says 108,000 people receive food benefits. But those people may soon be looking to local groups for help.

Partners INW says its food banks serve up to 16,000 people a month, and that the government shutdown is threatening programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

"We are stretched pretty thin without any temporary crises," said Cal Coblentz, the CEO of Pa