NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Story courtesy of WVLT) – The state of Tennessee will not use any of its over $2 billion “Rainy Day Fund” to pay out Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in November. The federally-run program won’t be offering benefits next month if the federal government stays shutdown.
It’s a cause for concern for many who live here; state data shows nearly 700,000 Tennesseans rely on SNAP to get food on the table each month. Of those, 34,000 live in Knox County.
Elizabeth Lane Johnson, Gov. Bill Lee’s director of communications, emailed WVLT a statement from the governor on the issue. Like many of his Republican colleagues, Lee put the blame on Democrats in Washington.
Johnson also said the only option for funding SNAP is with federal dollars.
“While the Lee administration continues working with federal agencies to mitigate the impact of a shutdown on hardworking Tennesseans, SNAP is federally funded, and without those federal dollars, the state cannot provide the benefits,” Johnson said.
On average, it costs around $145 million a month to cover Tennessee’s SNAP benefits. That’s about 7% of the state’s estimated 2,150,000,000 reserve dollars, as listed in Tennessee’s 2025-2026 budget.
