Last week Dakota County extended the timeline for approving applications for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Benefits (SNAP), often referred to as food stamps, through to Oct. 29. This extension is an effort to process October SNAP benefits before the program is expected to run out of funds on Nov. 1 due to the ongoing government shutdown, which at time of writing is entering its fourth week, the third-longest shutdown in US history.
“We are starting to hit the real results” of the government shutdown, said Marti Fischbach, Director of Community Services at Dakota County.
The Department of Children Youth and Families (DCYF) had previously told the county SNAP applications would not be processed after 10 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14 then updated the deadline to 10 p.m. Wednesday Oct. 15.
While last-minute application processing is not a new practice for counties during government shutdowns, the sudden deadline had Dakota County staff staying to the 10 p.m. deadline on the 14th and then 15th in order to work through the backlog of cases.
As of the morning of Oct. 14, Dakota County had some 11,000 pending SNAP applications, a number Dakota County Manager Heidi Walsch called “too big of a number of counties to cover” without federal funding.
These applications were for benefits in both October and November, meaning that if they were not processed, some Dakota County residents would not receive their SNAP benefits this month.
The deadline was then shifted to Oct. 29 because Minnesota IT services was able to update MAXIS, the state computer system that determines eligibility for public services and health care, to allow SNAP processing through Oct. 29., “In an effort to issue as much October benefits knowing November’s are at risk,” said Mary Beth Schubert, Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Dakota County.
The Oct. 29 deadline also applies for the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP), which “provides cash and food benefits for people with dependent children who have low income and limited assets,” according to Dakota County’s website.
“We continue working on SNAP and MFIP applications and will authorize additional overtime in an effort to process as many complete SNAP and MFIP applications before Oct. 29,” said Schubert.
For MFIP applications, turning in verifications and following up on interviews are the best way to ensure the application gets processed.
“If that is done there is a great likelihood the application can be processed before the end of day 10/29,” said Schubert.
All applications that are not processed by the 29th will remain pending until there is a change from DCYF. Cases will be able to be updated in preparation for processing once the county is able to do so following the government reopening.
Due to how Dakota County receives funding, other programs like Medicaid and Medicare are funded through quarter one of 2026 and thus are currently not in danger of ending.
This SNAP deadline comes at a time of increased food insecurity in the community. Local food shelves like Hastings Family Service are experiencing sustained levels of record-breaking numbers of families in need.
“Emergency food shelves are already operating above capacity so it will be challenging to absorb the additional needs caused by cuts to SNAP benefits, laid off employees and other cuts that are impacting the stability of families,” according to a statement from Amy Sutton, Executive Director of Hastings Family Service regarding the SNAP cuts.
Commissioner Laurie Halverson put it this way: “The safety net is currently broken.”