With SNAP benefits at risk, Canary helps employers provide support

• Key Insight: Learn how employer-funded emergency grants are bridging SNAP benefit disruptions during the shutdown.
• What's at Stake: Widespread benefit interruptions could increase employee financial instability and HR operational burdens.
• Supporting Data: More than 40 million Americans receive SNAP; benefits have been delayed and partially distributed.
• Source: Bullets generated by AI with editorial review

As the government shutdown drags on, its fallout is becoming more and more apparent — and now millions who rely on SNAP benefits are feeling the strain. 

Over 40 million people receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits each month, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, all of which have been delayed by the current government shutdown. The department has stated that when these funds are made available, eligible households will only receive around 50% of their normal allotment. 

In an effort to provide some much-needed assistance to those affected, emergency relief platform Canary has extended its financial services and support indefinitely to include the loss of SNAP benefits. 

Read more: Healthcare workers are feeling the strain of the government shutdown

"It became clear that there would be individuals not receiving their SNAP benefits, and that there was a good guarantee some of those individuals worked at our partner companies," says Catherine Scagnelli, head of marketing at Canary. "We knew we had the infrastructure to respond and we wanted to be there, front and center, to empower leaders to help employees facing this new crisis."

Through an employer's partnership with Canary, employees can access a company-branded grant site to apply for or donate to emergency relief funds. The application for assistance is a simple eight-step process verifying employment, explaining the emergency and uploading documentation. Canary's grant team then reviews applications within about 13 hours, and once approved, funds — typically tax-free — are deposited directly into the employee's linked PayPal account. Because the sum of money is a grant and not a loan, employees don't need to worry about paying the amount back after putting it toward their needs. 

Before the government shutdown, Canary's coverage didn't include the loss of  SNAP benefits, because the food stamp system had its own process for evaluating and distributing services that fell outside of Canary's usual scope, Scagnelli says. However, with federal funds frozen and many government agencies and services paused, individuals are now also losing reliable access to necessary goods and services due to their inability to pay for them up front — a challenge Canary could help address through a few changes to their policies and regulations. 

Read more: How leaders can support employees through the government shutdown 

"Our basic criteria has always been that employees are facing an unexpected emergency that causes the inability to afford basic necessities," Scagnelli says. "Once we realized that this now qualified, we went to our board and immediately got approval to add this event as a qualifier and have the rest work as it normally does." 

Because there are a number of reasons for why an individual could have lost their SNAP benefit, including increased income and missed deadlines, employees have to include proof in the qualification process that they didn't receive their benefits starting Nov. 1, which is when the disruption began. The initiative doesn't just serve as support for employees, but also for the benefit teams who will likely receive most of the feedback and questions about relief options from stressed out employees. 

"As an HR or benefit leader, you're often put in this reactive position to help solve problems brought to you," Scagnelli says. "To have this infrastructure behind them that could then be translated into real-time support has been really appreciated."

Read more: How the government shutdown will impact jobs, Social Security and healthcare

Canary has made it clear to their partnering companies that the inclusion of SNAP benefits will remain until the end of the government shutdown and until employees are receiving their benefits regularly again. And while SNAP benefit delays is the current crisis the workforce is facing, Scagnelli urges employers to use this time to think about how adding emergency relief platforms and benefits can help their workforce through every unexpected setback they may face.  

"This issue is so much broader,"  Scagnelli says. "It's also the LA wildfires in January, the hurricanes in the fall and the tornadoes hitting the Midwest. It's when a family member dies or an accident happens. These programs can be year-round to help your people whenever they need it."