Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s office announced the launch of a new website Thursday ahead of the anticipated lapse of appropriations meant to fund November Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for more than 690,000 Tennesseans.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which administers SNAP, has confirmed that approximately 42 million recipients of the program will not receive November benefits due to the ongoing government shutdown, writing on its website, “Bottom line, the well has run dry.”
USDA continues, “We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance.”
As states are unable to utilize state dollars to fund SNAP amid the federal government shutdown, Tennessee has launched a website, FeedTN.org, to provide Tennesseans with resources connecting them to food assistance and volunteer opportunities.
Today, we launched https://t.co/huNqv6L3AU to mobilize rapid response across the state for Tennesseans impacted by the federal government shutdown.
— Gov. Bill Lee (@GovBillLee) October 30, 2025
The website was launched in collaboration with Second Harvest, United Way, Catholic Charities, Chattanooga Food Bank, Mid-South Food Bank, and hundreds of community and faith organizations, and supported by the Governor’s Faith-Based and Community Initiative.
Lee, while praising the launch of FeedTN, also continued his call for congressional Democrats to vote in favor of opening the government.
“Democrats can ensure hardworking Tennessee families receive the resources they need by reopening the federal government now. Their failure to fund federal nutrition programs cannot be solved by states, and the void cannot be filled with temporary fixes that would only drain state resources and prolong the misery of this shutdown,” the governor said.
The Tennessee House Republican Caucus is encouraging Tennesseans to volunteer, donate to food banks, and share information about statewide resources that are available to families who are impacted by the lapse in federal appropriations.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Food Bank” by FeedTN.org.
