BOISE BENCH, Idaho — Families across Boise are facing empty fridges and depleted EBT accounts as they continue waiting for their November SNAP benefits amid the ongoing government shutdown.
Although the USDA confirmed that federal food assistance would not be distributed this month, mother of three, Mina Sadiki held out hope her benefits might still come through.
But when she checked her account Monday morning, the balance read zero.
"That's literally all you're seeing, nothing, absolutely nothing," Sadiki said.
WATCH | How families are coping with $0 in SNAP benefits for Nov. —
Idahoans who receive SNAP benefits typically see money loaded into their accounts during the first 10 days of each month. The specific day depends on their case number, which usually mirrors the last digit of their Social Security number or birth year. For Sadiki, that would’ve been Nov. 3rd.
"So I was watching avidly every day, a couple of hours, you know, going through the day, I check and nothing. There was no like 'you have upcoming money,' there was nothing," Sadiki said.
Health complications prevent Sadiki from working, making her family heavily reliant on SNAP funds for food.
"With so many dietary restrictions for my kids, we need specific things that you can only purchase with food stamps of or equivalent amounts of money, and we don't have that," Sadiki said.
While she received some federal benefits this month through the WIC program, Sadiki is now turning to local food pantries, which she said are also running low on resources.
"I do a lot of church runs, a lot of them, but the churches now are running out of food, so we're mainly getting cans, which, I mean, God bless for everything, but like I said, when you have children, that's just not enough," Sadiki said.
Sadiki has gotten creative, turning to social media to share resources and swap goods with nearby neighbors.
"Like if somebody needs whole milk and I need Lactaid, we'll exchange those too. My children don't eat a lot of rice, but they love potatoes. People donate to me. I donate to them, neighbors helping neighbors," Sadiki said.
Sadiki and her family have also started a business, FES Handyman Services, as another way to help their neighbors.
“We at FES Handyman are always here to help you with anything that you need. We help our community. I run a food bank from home. We have a lot of assistance, feminine products, baby products. We can help you,” Sadiki said.
Sadiki said her drive to give stems from personal experience.
“It's important to help those around me because at any moment, that could be me again. I've been in that position before. I lived in that position before, where I had nothing,” Sadiki said. “I firmly believe that if we carry each other through these hard times, can by can, vegetable by vegetable, food by food, we can all genuinely help each other when the government does what they do.”
As millions across the country wait for food funding, the USDA announced plans to release $4.65 billion in contingency funds to cover existing SNAP households.That's about half the usual monthly amount, and the USDA said it could take weeks or even months for recipients to receive their partial funds.
Sadiki said it's still not enough to sustain families like hers.
"So they're pretty much just giving people hush money to leave them alone until they resolve whatever is going on,” Sadiki said. “This situation is not OK, and withholding food from people is absolutely unacceptable, and that's no way to live.”
