Mass. Governor Healey to release $4 million toward countering Saturday SNAP cut off

BOSTON, Mass. (WLNE) — Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey will release $4 million in state emergency funds to counter the SNAP benefits cut off due to hit residents on Saturday.

The money will come from the Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program and will be distributed to local food banks.

More than one million people in Massachusetts will be affected by the SNAP cut off.

32 percent of those recipients are children and 21,000 are veterans.

Healey’s announcement comes on the heels of a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration related to the SNAP cuts.

The coalition of attorneys general who filed the suit said that SNAP contingency funds should be accessible as they were appropriated by Congress.

The lawsuit hearing began earlier Thursday morning in a Boston District courtroom.

The SNAP issue will also be discussed from the Rhode Island State House, as Lt. Governor Sabina Matos will hold an information session regarding the cuts and what residents can expect in their wake.

The event will be held on Facebook in English and Spanish at 7 p.m. Thursday.

You can find your local Massachusetts food bank here.

Rhode Islanders can look up sites for assistance here.