After Wyoming’s $2.4M SNAP Stopgap, Gov. Gordon Says the Hunger Fight Isn’t Over

The original story by Tamara Chibe for KOTA.

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon is urging the state to keep pushing on food insecurity — even after Wyoming stepped in with more than $2.4 million in emergency help when federal SNAP benefits briefly stalled during the government shutdown earlier this fall.

A final report released this week by the Wyoming Department of Family Services (DFS) lays out what happened under Executive Order 2025-08, which Gordon signed on Oct. 31. The order declared a Public Welfare Emergency, giving the state room to move quickly while SNAP — the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — was temporarily suspended.

The goal was simple: don’t let families fall into a food gap while Washington was stuck.

During the emergency window — Oct. 31 through Nov. 19 — DFS funneled funds to the Food Bank of Wyoming, partner pantries, independent pantries, and mobile pantry programs across the state. The order was lifted once SNAP benefits resumed, ending the state’s short-term intervention.

According to DFS, the state distributed $2,411,536.50, including:

• Food Bank of Wyoming: $1,096,352.33;
• Food pantries affiliated with the Food Bank: $1,074,444.42;
• Independent food pantries: $207,043.75;
• 14 mobile food pantries: $33,696.00.

Gordon credited state agencies and local networks — nonprofits, churches, and volunteers — for moving fast when the shutdown threatened to disrupt food access. But he also stressed that the emergency funds were just that: emergency.

DFS Director Korin Schmidt noted in the report that food insecurity remains a serious challenge in Wyoming, even after the SNAP lapse ended and the emergency money went out the door.

In other words: the crisis moment passed, but the underlying problem is still sitting there — and Gordon wants the momentum from the emergency response to carry into longer-term action.

The DFS report is publicly available online, according to the state’s announcement.