ATLANTA — Federal lawmakers are running out of time to pass a new budget. If they can't strike a deal in the next few days, the government will shut down at 12:01 a.m. Sunday morning.
"The impacts of the government shutdown are extremely wide-ranging," said Suhas Sridharan, an associate professor at the Emory University Goizueta Business School. "WIC and SNAP are two of the most salient, especially to people here at home, because they have such a direct consequence on people's day-to-day lives."
Sridharan said SNAP would not be affected immediately because it receives mandated federal funding. WIC, however, could be paused soon after the government shutdown begins.
The Georgia Department of Public Health anticipates three weeks of funding for WIC participant food benefits if the federal government shuts down on Oct. 1, 2023.
"DPH is actively monitoring developments in Washington, D.C. and will continue to evaluate potential impacts to the WIC program," said Nancy Nydam with Georgia DPH.
She said there are roughly 223,000 WIC participants in Georgia.
"The program is designed to provide the basic necessities for people who don't have the resources to afford them. Not having that would be, I think, pretty devastating," Sridharan said. "The economy is still very much kind of emerging from the challenges that were brought on by the COVID pandemic."
In the last year and a half, the Atlanta Community Food Bank has seen a 40% increase in demand for food assistance. CEO Kyle Waide expects that trend to continue — or worsen — with the looming government shutdown.
"What we learned during the last shutdown is that there are a lot of folks who are really living paycheck to paycheck," he said. "Any disruption, however small, can really put them into a position of needing our help."
He hopes lawmakers will reach a deal before the federal government shuts down.
"The WIC program, alongside other nutrition programs, provides a really critical form of support for families facing food insecurity, especially families who are about to have a baby or who have really young kids," Waide said. "Disrupting access to that support can really be damaging to those families."
He said they're preparing for an increase in need from anyone who might be affected — including federal workers who may have to show up to their jobs without a paycheck.
"We're going to have to go out and get more food to support the needs of North Georgia as we go through this period," he said. "Last time, we had TSA employees who were on the job but not getting paid, who had to after work come to a food distribution to get food for their family."
The ACFB is always looking for volunteers and donations. You can help through their website.