Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency on Thursday to counteract the expiration of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits on November 1 due to the government shutdown. Over 850,000 people in the state of Virginia utilize SNAP benefits.

US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins posted to the social media platform X on October 16, stating that “there are not enough funds to provide SNAP for 40 million Americans come Nov 1.”

Youngkin is authorized to declare a state of emergency through Article V of the Constitution of Virginia and by §§ 44-146.17 and 44-146.28 of the Code of Virginia. §§ 44-146.17 states that the governor can issue orders that are “in his judgment required to control, restrict, allocate or regulate the use, sale, production and distribution of food, fuel, clothing and other commodities, materials, goods, services and resources under any state or federal emergency services programs.” §§ 44-146.28 allows the governor to use all funds from the state treasury if they are not constitutionally restricted, including using such funds to provide disaster relief services.

“The Commonwealth will provide food benefits until Congressional Democrats put the interests of Virginians in need ahead of their politics,” said Youngkin in a press release.

Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri drafted a bill to fund SNAP benefits during the government shutdown, but that bill has not been voted on. There have not been reports of other state bills to continue to fund SNAP benefits using state government funds.

The government has been shut down since October 1 due to Democrats and Republicans disagreeing over congressional spending to extend the Affordable Care Act and reverse Medicaid cuts.