Bananas and cereals at a grocery store in Fairfax, Virginia, on March 3, 2011. (USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.)

The City-County of Butte-Silver Bow declared a local emergency on Wednesday because of the loss of SNAP benefits, the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program.

Butte-Silver Bow Chief Executive JP Gallagher, who signed the proclamation, said he anticipated local commissioners would pass a corresponding emergency resolution to use $183,974 to alleviate food insecurity in the local community.

“Butte has gone through tough times, and people step up,” Gallagher told the Daily Montanan. “If the state and federal government aren’t going to step in, we’re going to do what we can with the resources we have.”

SNAP benefits, which roughly 77,000 Montanans receive, are entangled in

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