With 42 million Americans on the brink of losing their SNAP benefits on November 1, many nonprofits and online content creators are asking parents to rethink what they hand out to trick-or-treaters this Halloween. 

Some groups and influencers are using their platforms to remind followers that funding for SNAP — short for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and often referred to as “food stamps” — is about to run out because of the government shutdown. Handing out nonperishable food alongside candy, they say, can go a long way to help neighbors in need. 

In a viral Facebook post, the United Way Family Resource Center recommended adding things like ramen, microwave macaroni-and-cheese cups, shelf-stable pudding, bags of pretzels and protein bars to the sweet treats in every child’s Halloween basket. “Every little bit helps keep a child’s belly full — and shows that kindness can be just as sweet as candy,” the post says.

Many popular pediatrician influencers and other content creators who focus on child well-being are repeating a similar message. Among their suggestions is placing a supply of Cup Noodles and mini cereal boxes on the doorstep so families can take what they need without stigma. 

Heather Black is the vice president of 211 System Strategy at the United Way. 211 is the three-digit dialing code designated at the federal level to connect people to health and human services in their community — and Black said there has been “very significant increases in calls related specifically to food” to 211 since the government shutdown began four weeks ago. 211 has call centers across the country, reaching virtually all of the United States. Callers are connected with a trained responder who, after completing a short intake, connects them with local resources. 

Black told The 19th that housing, utility assistance and food have always encompassed the top needs of 211 callers. Now, she said, “we are starting to see food needs specifically increase from people who maybe have always been able to rely on SNAP benefits and with the increasing publicity that funding from those benefits will not be available for the month of November, there’s beginning to be a lot of anxiety among families around how they’re going to meet those costs.”

Another group of callers concerned about food insecurity right now, Black said, are federal workers who do not receive SNAP benefits, but who are approaching four weeks without a paycheck while also dealing with increasingly high grocery store prices. 

“This is real life for people,” Black said. That’s where the spirit of the now-viral Halloween posts come into play — and speak of ways to extend that energy even further. 

“I think that’s a really creative idea, the Halloween idea — but that’s just one brief moment in time,” she said. “We’re going to need to do a lot more.”

In addition to encouraging people to support local food pantries and other community groups that help provide groceries to those in need, Black said there are other ways people can help.

“We need to check on our neighbors,” she said, mentioning people with children and older adults in particular. “We need to check in and make sure that people that we might know who would in a situation where their income could either be impacted by the government shutdown where they are now not getting a paycheck or if they have relied in the past on some of these programs where funding has now been paused — we need to check in on those folks.”

Black reminded that giving can also go beyond just donating to local food pantries. She recommended that when checking on people whose access to food might have been impacted by the shutdown in some way, ask if they need any items from the grocery store.

“I really encourage people to think in that way because asking for help is not always easy,” she said.