Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee blasted the Trump administration on Tuesday for abruptly cutting emergency food aid to needy families during the government shutdown.
“More than 100,000 people in our state are at risk of going hungry Nov. 1,” he said at a news conference at the Rhode Island Food Bank.
“It’s the Trump Administration’s equivalent of ‘Let them eat cake’,” he said, echoing the famous phrase attributed to Marie Antoinette that helped foment the French Revolution.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, feeds more than 143,000 needy Rhode Islanders at a cost of $29 million a month.
But because of the federal government shutdown, now in its fourth week, the state won’t receive its next allocation starting Nov. 1.
At the first of the month, McKee plans to shift $3 million away from another federal program called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and make it available to SNAP recipients.
He then plans to shift another $3 million in TANF funds Nov. 15.
McKee suggested the plan may have to be revised too, given that no one knows how long the government shutdown will last.
In addition to the $6 million, the state is making a $200,000 contribution to the Rhode Island Food Bank, a donation being matched by the Rhode Island Foundation.
The foundation’s president David Cicilline said, “The safety net that so many people count on is in danger of disappearing.”
The state is also working with the nonprofit Elisha Project to put together grocery backs for some of the communities expected to be hardest hit, mostly in Providence and Central Falls.
“This is not a typical Thanksgiving food drive,” McKee said. “The emergency is real.”
East Providence Mayor Roberto Da Silva said local leaders should be prepared to stand up too.
“We need everyone now,” he said. “This is all hands on deck.”
The Rhode Island AFL-CIO, which made its own $10,000 contribution to the Food Bank, placed the blame squarely on the Trump administration.
“If you had a choice to build a ballroom or to feed hungry children, there’s really no contest,” he said, referring to Trump’s lavish construction project tearing down the East Wing of the White House to build an event space for state dinners.
McKee’s challenger in the upcoming governor’s race, former CVS executive Helena Foulkes, said the governor should mobilize the National Guard to help with the hunger problem.
“While this crisis stems from decisions made in Congress and by the Trump administration, our state leaders must act now,” Foulkes said in a statement, claiming that activating the Rhode Island National Guard would “ensure that not a single Rhode Islander goes hungry.”
McKee dismissed the idea and accused Foulkes of “political grandstanding.”
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said Tuesday that he’s suing the Trump Administration over SNAP benefits. Rhode Island and Massachusetts are among the nearly two dozen states party to the suit, which seeks to force the federal government to use contingency funds to keep benefits coming.
But McKee suggested that case will take time to play out. And, he said, the state needs to do what it can now to alleviate the crisis.
McKee called on all Rhode Islanders to do their part to help their neighbors – from donating supplies to local food pantries to making contributions to a special fund set up by the Rhode Island Foundation.
Officials said people can learn more by visiting a new state website, SNAPsupport.ri.gov
This story has been updated to include additional reporting from a Tuesday news conference.
