The State of New Mexico will provide $30 million starting Nov. 1 in an emergency response to counter the pending stop of federal food assistance for the first 10 days of the month, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced on Wednesday.

The state plan follows the United States Department of Agriculture’s recent announcement that it would stop funding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program at the end of October due to the ongoing federal shutdown. The agency then rebuffed requests from members of Congress—including New Mexico’s delegation—to use contingency funds to guarantee no pause in SNAP benefits.

The money comes from state emergency funds replenished during the Oct. 1 special session when lawmakers added $30 million to the state’s contingency fund, which the governor can sp

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