2025 Government Shutdown
Last Updated: November 8, 2025
NEED FOOD?
We are here to help. GBFB and our 600 Agency Partners have built a durable food distribution system throughout the nine counties and 190 towns and cities across Eastern Massachusetts.
If you, or anyone you know, are in need of food, you can use our Agency Partner Locator to find food assistance in your community (Eastern Massachusetts).
If you’re outside of Eastern Massachusetts, use the links below to connect to the food bank that supports your region.
Food Bank of Western Massachusetts
For additional statewide resources, you can connect with the agencies and services below.
Project Bread FoodSource Hotline (1-800-645-8333)
United Way of Massachusetts Bay (for individual, family, and organizational support)
Executive Office of Aging and Independence
MassLegalServices Shutdown Information (includes updates on healthcare, immigration, housing, and more.)
SNAP
For questions and the most updated information about SNAP:
- Get SNAP updates at Mass.gov/SNAPfreeze
- Visit the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA)
- Reach out to GBFB’s SNAP Team online, via phone at 617-598-5022, or by filling out this form.
WIC
For the most up to date information about the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) visit the Department of Public Health (DPH) online.
WHAT WE KNOW RIGHT NOW
On November 8, the MA Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) confirmed that SNAP households who missed payments the previous week now have full, active balances on their EBT cards and those funds are immediately available for them to use. For more information, please visit the DTA’s SNAP Updates webpage.
SNAP benefits from October or earlier are still available. SNAP households can still spend any benefits remaining on their EBT card, and will receive retroactive benefits when the federal government reopens. To continue to access the Healthy Incentive Program (HIP) benefits, households must keep $0.01 on their EBT cards. HIP vendor locations can be found here. The Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) continues to process SNAP applications under normal rules.
At this time, Massachusetts Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), school lunch, and school breakfast are not impacted by the federal government shutdown.
GBFB Statement, November 4, 2025: While we applaud the partial funding of November’s SNAP benefits, this will not be enough to meet the nutritional needs of the households that rely on SNAP. The four food banks in Massachusetts will still need to provide an estimated 28 million additional meals to cover the remaining gap, which will be two times the average monthly distribution. The lag in the implementation may mean that families may go a full week or longer without vital financial support. We encourage everyone to continue working together as we do everything we can to support our neighbors in need as we navigate this challenging time.
WHAT GBFB IS DOING TO HELP
We are here to help. GBFB and our 600 Agency Partners have built a durable food distribution system here in Eastern Massachusetts. Currently we are:
Providing more food to our Agency Parners: We’re increasing food purchasing with the goal of bringing in up to 50 additional full pallets of food each day to help meet the rising need across our communities.
Expanding the full pallet item list: The expanded list allows GBFB Agency Partners to order more food items in larger quantities.
Making fresh produce deliveries: We’re making direct deliveries of full pallets of fresh produce to our agency partners. This will increase access to nutritious food across our network.
Increasing Marketplace appointments: We’re adding additional pick-up appointments to the Marketplace at our Yawkey Distribution Center.
Increasing Meal Boxes: Efforts are underway to expand the production and availability of Family Meal Boxes to our network.
We’ll continue to monitor impacts of the federal government shutdown and are in frequent communication with our state agencies and hunger-relief partners to align on next steps to mitigate any harm to food-insecure neighbors losing paychecks or benefits. As with any crisis, GBFB is preparing so families can get the food they need during the government shutdown and beyond.
Leading up to the SNAP benefits freeze:
- We Worked with the Healey-Driscoll Administration to advance monthly payments for the MA Emergency Food Assistance Program to ensure the food banks have resources to provide food for the statewide network of 850+ community food assistance partners
- Joined a rally organized by the Make Hunger History Coalition at the Massachusetts State House steps to urge the government to act to protect MA families in the event of a SNAP benefit freeze.
- GBFB joined advocates in a letter to the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation and to the Healey-Driscoll Administration and State Legislature urging action to protect SNAP benefits .
Please reach out to govrelations@gbfb.org with any questions.
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT
A delay in SNAP benefits is unprecedented and will cause harm for residents and the economy. In Massachusetts, approximately $212 million in SNAP benefits are disbursed each month, averaging $323 per household per month.
In Massachusetts, over 1 million people rely on SNAP to put food on the table. Any disruption of this program would be catastrophic for our most vulnerable neighbors. The USDA has shared that, should the shutdown continue, there will not be enough funding to pay for the entirety of November benefits. If next month’s benefits are not available, and SNAP participants turn to the statewide food pantry system to cover the gap, the four MA food banks would have to provide up to 56 million more meals in November. That’s more than four times what the food bank system currently distributes in an average month on top of the increased demand for food assistance that our network experiences around the holidays. demand for food assistance that our network experiences around the holidays.
At this time, we urge you to call your state legislators and ask them to commit to supporting Massachusetts families with uninterrupted access to SNAP and WIC in November and beyond. Find your state legislators here.