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>> We leave it there. Brad
Olson, thanks very much for

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your time.
>> Thank you very much.

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>> As of tomorrow, SNAP or
Foodshare benefits are due

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to run out because of the
government shutdown.

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Wisconsin gets about $115
million a month from the

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feds to help some 700,000
people be able to buy

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groceries. State Attorney
General Josh Kaul signed on

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to a multi-state lawsuit to
tap contingency funds in

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the USDA to cover SNAP into
November.

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>> A government shutdown
has never stopped states

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from distributing these
critical benefits to those

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who need them. So this
lawsuit is about protecting

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Foodshare funding and
preventing Wisconsinites

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and millions of others from
around the country, from

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losing access to what can
be life sustaining food

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assistance. As the
government shutdown moves

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forward.
>> Following a hearing in

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the lawsuit, the federal
judge in Massachusetts

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indicated she would order
the Trump administration to

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send Snap funds to states.
So the familiar uncertainty

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persists. But adding to the
federal snap cliff, some

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18,000 federal workers in
Wisconsin are mostly going

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without a paycheck. Where
to turn for help to feed

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the family in the midst of
it, food banks and pantries

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are girding for a rush on
their services. We turn to

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Jackie Anderson, executive
director of Feeding

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Wisconsin, a statewide
network of food banks. And

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thanks very much for being
here.

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>> So what kind of
trepidation do you have

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going forward with
potential lapses or

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disruptions in food share
benefits?

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about having enough food
because we know that people

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already, in preparation for
not being able to receive

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their Snap benefits in the
month of November, they're

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starting to stock up. So
across the state, we're

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really thinking about how
can we ensure that

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everybody has the amount of
food that they have until

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the government opens up
again and Snap benefits

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will go back on EBT cards?
>> You're saying with

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people kind of stocking up
even ahead of any kind of

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cut of Snap funding, that
you're having difficulties

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because the costs are going
up?

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some vendors, because they
know that there is pressure

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to make sure that we have
food on our shelves. There

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are some significant
increases that we're seeing

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in some parts of the state.
So, you know, we're really

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trying to encourage people
to use their Snap benefits

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in the month of November
because there was some

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miscommunication saying
that a person could not use

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their Snap benefits
throughout the month of

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November, and that is
inaccurate. The confusion

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was around whether or not
stores would accept their

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EBT cards in the month of
November, and the message,

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and that because of
messaging that had come

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from on the federal level.
And so we needed to be

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clear that everybody can
use their benefits. So

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let's say you have a
balance left over in

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October. You absolutely can
use that in the month of

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November.
>> How have food prices

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already taxed your services
even ahead of all of this?

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The shutdown.
numbers we were looking at

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were actually pre-COVID. So
we know already because of

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inflation that people
cannot keep food in their

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shelves like they had
previously done. So we know

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we knew already that we
didn't have enough food at

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the food bank and food
pantry world to to keep

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everybody fed. And now this
is just increased what we

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need to do.
>> As to the lawsuit to tap

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USDA contingency
contingency funds to cover

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SNAP through November,
what's your response to the

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administration?
can't do that?

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>> Yeah, it's frustrating
because we know that there

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is funds on the federal
level. We know that there's

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funds at the state level as
well. The funding is there.

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It's just a matter of
releasing it. And it is a

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political game at this
point. And everybody needs

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to to come together because
people are going to go

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hungry. And that is not
something that anyone

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should play around with. We
need to really take

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advantage of the funds that
are there and release them.

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>> It does seem like a
policy choice, because

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there are some lawmakers
who believe that the Snap

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program is bloated or rife
with abuse and fraud. What

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do you know about that?
>> It's not we we see time

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and time again, and we know
the vast majority of people

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who are using Snap benefits
absolutely are working more.

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They work 1 or 2 jobs that
it's not it's not fraud.

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It's not fraud, waste and
abuse. We know that people

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who need it are 700,000
people throughout the state

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of Wisconsin. Of them, a
large percentage are senior

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citizens and families with
children. It's not people

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who are taking advantage of
the system.

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>> Even with a court order,
could recipients experience

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a lapse in food share?
>> Absolutely. So even when,

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released and it goes back
on their EBT cards, we know

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that there will be a slight
delay just to get

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everything up and running
again. So we're being

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really clear in the
messaging around that, that

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even when the government
opens up, it's not going to

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be a miraculous, you know,
addition on their EBT cards.

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It's going to take a couple
of days to get things up

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and running.
>> So Feeding Wisconsin

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secures donations from
retailers, food companies,

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local donors and ag
producers. Have those

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donations kept pace with
this demand?

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>> It's interesting. So our
food banks, they collect a

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lot of donations. And what
you just spoke about, I

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think where we're seeing
the biggest lapse right now

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is corporate donors. And
that could be because of

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tariffs. Like there's a lot
of reasons why that's

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happening. But on the whole
there is donations. So many

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people want to help out
right now. We encourage

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anybody if they are
interested in helping out,

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go straight to the food
bank or the food pantries

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instead of doing individual
food drives. That is where

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you can get the most for
your money. Where they have

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purchasing power, they
understand what their

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community needs.
>> So for people who have

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never sought out food
pantries, what should they

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know?
that our food pantries are

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welcoming and that they are
there to help the community.

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They try to communicate
what is available most, not

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most all, food banks and
food pantries. They are

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there. Times are listed on
their websites and

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sometimes those change
based on if it's a mobile

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pantry. Also, expect long
lines we're seeing right

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now. You know where there
used to be maybe an hour

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long line. Now it's 2 to 3
hours long, so expect a

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delay if you could get
there during the

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distribution hours early.
That will help ensure that

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there's enough food for you.
>> Is it true that right

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now there are many first
time users kind of of

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pantries?
Especially in those

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military communities. We
know that there are first

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timers. You know, anyone
else who is a federal

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worker. If they're not
getting paid, we know that

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they're going to be first
timers as well as just

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people who are struggling
to because of the cost of