Princeton Schools Launch Food Drive As SNAP Funding Delayed

PRINCETON, NJ - New Jersey has notified school districts and other organizations that federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding for November will be delayed.

The disruption may affect families' ability to access food assistance.

To support local food assistance programs — including the Princeton Mobile Food Pantry and Cornerstone Community Kitchen — the Princeton Public School District is placing donation bins at all six schools.

The district will collect canned and boxed goods, fresh produce , and personal care items for distribution to community organizations.

Bins will be located near the main entrance of each school building. Families who are able to donate are encouraged to send items to school with their children.

The Department of Agriculture recently announced it would not distribute SNAP benefits this month, stating "the well has run dry."

The government shutdown, which began Oct. 1, is now the second-longest on record. While the Republican administration took steps leading up to the shutdown to ensure SNAP benefits were paid this month, the cutoff would expand the impact of the impasse to a wider swath of Americans — and some of those most in need — unless a political resolution is found in just a few days.

The Center's analysis of USDA Food and Nutrition Service data reveals that 827,200 New Jersey residents—representing 9 percent of the state's population, or one in eleven people—depend on SNAP benefits to keep food on their tables.

In Mercer County, some estimates suggest that currently close to 40,000 people depend on SNAP benefits.

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