New shutdown problem: Miami is the U.S. capital for seniors on food stamps
Ahead of Thursday’s lunch rush at Curley’s House Food Bank in Miami’s Liberty City, Executive Director Lavern Spicer said she’s preparing for a sharp uptick in customers as the federal government shutdown enters its fourth week and Florida’s Department of Children and Families tells millions not to expect food assistance next month.
“People are afraid because they don’t know what’s going to happen with this shutdown,” Spicer said. Her organization already feeds 5,000 families a month and expects thousands more if Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits lapse in November. “We are going to need a lot of help to take on those types of numbers.”
She’s especially concerned about seniors, who she’s found to be hesitant to seek out help when they need it. “Elderly people have a lot of pride when they’re hungry, they’re not necessarily going to say that they are hungry,” Spicer said. “We get those calls all the time with seniors.”
Nowhere is the problem more pronounced than in Miami-Dade: The county has the highest share in the United States of households receiving SNAP benefits where at least one member is aged over 60.
Roughly 1 million households in Florida benefit from food stamps. Of the more than 215,000 households receiving benefits in Miami-Dade county, three out of five have one or more elderly members, according to a Miami Herald analysis of data from the U.S. Agriculture Department.
The pressure on Congress to reopen the government is set to hit a fever pitch in November, both as SNAP benefits are set to lapse and the Affordable Care Act’s healthcare open enrollment period begins. Obamacare recipients will see price spikes for coverage next year without expiring covid-era subsidies — the key sticking point in government funding negotiations.
Some of the pressure on federal lawmakers is also shifting to state-level leaders to fill the gaps as the shutdown drums on. Florida Democrats are calling on Gov. Ron DeSantis to fund state-level food assistance programs in the federal government’s wake.
“For the price of shutting down Alligator Alcatraz, he can ensure that Florida families have food on the table,” Democratic Chairwoman Nikki Fried said Thursday.
Orlando-area Democratic Rep. Anna Eskamani said she sees two options for the state to step in and provide relief: The Department of Children and Family Services could request an amendment from a legislative committee to redirect funds to cover federal funding gaps, or the governor could declare a state of emergency.
“When you declare a state of emergency, the governor has a lot of authority. He can suspend laws if that helps them implement what he says the emergency is and he’s been doing that with immigration,” Eskamani said. “He could do the same thing on food insecurity or the government shutdown — however you want to phrase it — to open up funding already allocated by the legislative branch to the executive branch for emergencies.”
When the Herald asked DeSantis’ office if his office plans to step in to provide state-level relief, a spokesperson directed questions to DCF and did not respond to follow-ups.
“November benefits will not be issued until federal funding is restored,” a DCF spokesperson said. The agency did not answer questions about state-level stopgaps.
The looming lapse in SNAP funding comes as both Republicans and Democrats dig in their heels over the shutdown. Democrats insist the shutdown will end as soon as Republicans agree to extend Obamacare subsidies, while Republicans say they won’t negotiate on subsidies until Democrats vote to reopen the government.
“It is Republicans who have to answer to their constituents as to why their healthcare prices are going up, as to why food-assistance funds have gone dry,” Miami Democratic U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson told the Miami Herald.
Senate Democrats “have to stop voting to keep the government shut down, then we can discuss, negotiate, work on all these issues through the regular democratic process,” her neighboring Republican U.S. Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart countered.
Neither parties’ leaders have shown signs of cracking — and Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries has signaled he’s counting on the Nov. 1 impacts to up the heat on Republicans to agree to their demands.
But for the Miami seniors set to suffer the consequences, the politics are a world away — and the money for food is disappearing next week.
“We need more funding to be able to handle that type of crowd,” Spicer, the Miami food bank director said, “because if people lose their SNAP benefits, it’s like they’re gonna lose their mind.”
This story was originally published October 24, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
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