Hawaii stepped in to provide a financial and food assistance lifeline during the record-long federal government shutdown and now expects to end up paying far less in state funds than
expected.
The Trump administration temporarily suspended SNAP benefits beginning Nov. 1, meaning 161,132
island residents — representing 81,124 families — would each lose their monthly $346 in federal assistance to buy food.
Gov. Josh Green partially filled the void by providing $250 in state food assistance funding for each SNAP beneficiary in November.
The price tag to Hawaii was projected at $40.6 million for the Hawaii Emergency Food Assistance Program funded by the state Department of Human
Services.
But DHS Deputy Director Joseph Campos told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the state now expects to tap into federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Family reserves at the end of the year, which will lower Hawaii’s cost to only
$15 million.
The 43-day shutdown began Oct. 1 and hurt federal employees who were forced to work without pay, along with private government contractors and others who suddenly had to line up at food banks to put food on the table.
No one knew how long the shutdown would last.
“The only guaranteed certain thing was what the state could do,” Campos said. “We needed to ensure that people did not experience food insecurity.”
President Donald Trump’s temporary suspension of SNAP benefits had broader ramifications for Hawaii’s economy because SNAP payments represent 7% of all island food purchases and an even higher percentage in low-income and rural communities, according to the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization
So cutting off SNAP payments without offsetting the hardship would only further slow the state’s sluggish economy, which UHERO previously forecast was headed toward a “mild recession” in 2026 even before the government shutdown.
Green also pledged $2 million in state funding for Hawaii’s food banks to help them keep up with the sudden surge in demand as pop-up distribution centers opened.
And Green dedicated
$100 million in federal TANF funds for a separate Hawaii Relief Program designed to help families with children with housing and utility relief assistance.
At the end of last week, the program had received 5,240 applications for the TANF funds, Campos said.
Replacing the suspended November federal SNAP money with state funds required DHS to pivot to fulfill Green’s promise to get the state money onto SNAP Electronic Benefit Transfer cards by Nov. 14.
Instead, Campos said, “we were able to move quickly and release the funds on Nov. 6 with an executed date of Nov. 10.”
Trump’s suspension of SNAP funding was overturned by separate federal judges and federal SNAP assistance resumed in November, meaning Hawaii SNAP recipients got an additional, one-time infusion from the state.
But federal SNAP funding, alone, typically does not last an entire month, Campos said.
“A large majority of people experience food insecurity at the end of the month,” he said.
Hawaii’s financial infusion was generally applauded across the state, along with individual and corporate donations of food and money during the shutdown, which ended Nov. 12.
At the same time, Hawaii’s economy continues to be hit by a slowdown in tourism, Trump’s ongoing tariff wars and rising grocery costs during the holidays.
According to the second annual Food Insecurity Survey released in November, nearly half of island families — 48% — are either food
insecure or on the brink of choosing between food, housing or health care, even among households earning $90,000 or more.
At the same time, new work requirements for SNAP beneficiaries are expected to make it harder for low-income residents to qualify for federal food assistance, while also facing planned increases that are expected to double Affordable Care Act health care premiums, in many cases.
