LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- As the federal government shutdown enters its fourth week, Kentucky families are growing increasingly concerned about how they’ll put food on the table.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, provides benefits to roughly 1-in-8 Americans each month. Recipients use prepaid electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards to buy groceries, but those payments could soon be disrupted if the shutdown continues.

While major federal programs like Social Security and Medicaid are expected to keep paying benefits, SNAP is funded differently and is more vulnerable to interruptions. 

Dedra Gunn is one of many people in Louisville who get assistance. She started receiving $133 a month in SNAP benefits after she was hit by a truck in 2017.

"I almost died," she said. "It left me disabled." 

Gunn said the benefits help support her family. 

"I have 16 grandkids," she said. 

Gunn is one of the 600,000 Kentuckians wondering if next month's SNAP benefits will be loaded to their EBT cards on time, or at all.  The federal government isn't covering those benefits in November if the shutdown continues.

That makes SNAP recipient Lily Nguyen feel "devastated, limited, and very, very disappointed." 

Gunn said she thinks "it's kind of terrible that with a snap of a finger, they can take food away from kids."

There are 600,000 Kentuckians that rely on SNAP benefits.

It's not just SNAP. Several other food assistance programs are in a tough spot, leaving Gunn wondering "how are people going to survive?"

That's why Gov. Andy Beshear has allocated $9.1 million to keep Kentucky's Senior Meals program afloat. That money comes from unused state funds and will keep meal services running while the state reviews the program.

Beshear also doesn't expect funding to come through for "Temporary Assistance for Needy Families" (TANF) next month. Kentucky will use millions of state dollars to keep children receiving assistance under that program fed.

"We cannot, at this time, make assurances for December," he said. 

For updates on where SNAP benefits stand in Kentucky, click here.

More Local News:

Man accused of swinging dog by leash, throwing it against dumpster in Bullitt County

Frankfort Police investigate KKK posters found in the city as 'appalling act of littering'

Search warrant leads to three arrests after Louisville police find major animal cruelty case

Crystal Rogers' mother opens up about heartbreak, justice and life after the guilty verdicts

Copyright 2025 WDRB Media. All rights reserved.