By Ivy Secrest
Wyoming Tribune Eagle
Via- Wyoming News Exchange

CHEYENNE — Gov. Mark Gordon issued two executive orders Friday — one intended to “make Wyoming healthy again” and the other releasing state funds to feed Wyomingites as the federal government shutdown continues.

During a news conference at the state Capitol on Friday, Gordon announced Executive Order 2025-07, declaring a Public Welfare Emergency and authorizing up to $10 million in state emergency funds to provide food to Wyomingites reliant on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

As of Friday, November SNAP benefits are not expected to be issued on time, leaving roughly 26,000 Wyomingites without proper funds for food. Gordon expressed his concern especially for children, veterans and the elderly.

“Food insecurity doesn’t care about political parties,” Gordon said in a news release. “Wyoming will not allow its citizens to go hungry because Washington can’t do its job.”

At the same time, Gordon moved to limit what Wyomingites can buy with their SNAP benefits. 

He announced Executive Order 202508, directing the Wyoming Department of Family Services to begin the process of submitting a waiver request to restrict the use of SNAP benefits to purchase “low-nutrition” foods, such as sugary beverages and candy.

“Wyoming will lead with common sense, knowing food assistance should support only wholesome nutrition,” Gordon said in the release.

Both orders are effective immediately.

 

Feeding Wyoming 

Since Congress has yet to pass a funding resolution, it is likely that federal SNAP funds, which are considered discretionary spending, may be exhausted as soon as Nov. 1.

Local food pantries and churches are already seeing the increase in use, as federal employees going without pay and residents with SNAP benefits turn to them to fill the gaps.

“The needs are there, they’re already expressing themselves,” Gordon said. “We have a number of people that really count on this, so this is to address that need.”

Because DFS cannot put dollars directly on EBT cards, which are the primary distribution method for SNAP, the funds will instead be distributed directly to food pantries.

The executive order directs DFS, in coordination with the State Budget Director, to deploy emergency funds to organizations that provide food assistance. Additionally, DFS will issue grant agreements that ensure access to funds and food for these organizations.

State statute allows the governor to authorize $10 million from the Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account in the case of unforeseen circumstances that require immediate action and threaten the health or welfare of the public.

“I think when people can’t eat, and we’ve got dozens of people being turned away at food banks and trying to find ways to feed themselves, I would qualify that as an emergency,” Gordon said.

Because funds are limited and the state has no clear idea when the shutdown will end, the order requires that DFS submit a distribution of funds proposal to the governor for review and approval.

The plan would provide cost estimates and lay out how the emergency support will be administered as long as the shutdown continues.

DFS will be reaching out to food banks, pantries and the Food Bank of Wyoming directly to start the conversation around distribution, which will be based on September’s SNAP recipients, according to DFS Director Korin Schmidt.

 

Federal impact

About an hour before Gordon announced the state’s intent to fill the gap in lost benefits, the Associated Press reported that two federal judges separately ruled that President Donald Trump’s administration must continue to fund SNAP through the shutdown using contingency funds.

It is unclear at this time how soon those rulings would take effect or what that funding would look like. However, Wyoming should be able to quickly adjust, as funds for the executive order will be distributed weekly.

Gordon assured the media that the state will stop the program as soon as SNAP is again federally funded.

“There could be some overlap,” he said. “But our intent is not to just keep this program running. Our intent is to make sure it fills a gap that will be there.”

Gordon appealed to the giving nature of Wyomingites, reminding them that it is the Thanksgiving season.

“I do hope that people remember, people are hungry, and it is Thanksgiving,” Gordon said. “If you go back to our various beginnings, we broke bread together at the same table, and it’s in that spirit that we’re moving forward.”

 

Limited purchase

Friday’s executive orders were not only about how to feed Wyoming residents, but what to feed them.

In the interim, Wyoming lawmakers have been looking to update SNAP by prohibiting participants from purchasing certain items that have been deemed “low-nutrition” foods, such as soft drinks and candy.

There has even been some discussion of also limiting the purchase of mustard and other spices.

Gordon’s executive order, “Making Wyoming Healthy Again Enhancing Nutrition in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,” took steps toward making those restrictions a reality.

“Wyoming taxpayers expect their dollars to support food assistance that helps families put healthy food on the table,” Gordon said. “SNAP is intended to help feed people, and Wyoming knows how to provide nutritious food. This order will ensure taxpayer funds are used to assist those in need to provide nutritious food for themselves and their family.”

In order to exclude items from purchase, the U.S. Department of Agriculture allows states to apply for waivers. However, those waivers can introduce unintended consequences for retailers, limiting the number of retailers willing to participate in SNAP.

For that reason, the executive order instructs DFS to conduct a review of proposed foods with “low or no nutritional value” currently eligible for purchase under federal SNAP rules and prepare a plan, including a list of proposed excluded items, to request a federal waiver from the USDA. This will include a phased rollout option to “ensure accuracy and reduce administrative burden on retailers, particularly in rural communities,” according to the news release.

The waiver essentially demonstrates that, as a result of the restrictions, Wyoming residents will get healthier, Schmidt said.

“We also want to recognize the balance that we have in our very frontier nature of the state,” Schmidt said. “Access to retail, access to grocery stores, access to community stores, is a big part of food in our state, and we want to balance that understanding with what types of foods or drinks should be restricted.”

Unlike the emergency order, this executive order will extend beyond the government shutdown, with a proposed waiver expected to be ready by the new year.

 

Another national conversation

Wyoming is not alone in wanting to restrict what foods federal dollars purchase. 

The order is in line with President Trump’s executive order establishing the Make America Healthy Again Commission, intended to address concerns over childhood diseases that can be impacted by poor nutrition.

“Our thoughtful approach to innovation and change has made Wyoming’s SNAP program one of the best nationally,” Schmidt said. “We plan to use this same roadmap as we develop the SNAP Food Restriction Waiver, aiming to encourage healthier options for our SNAP families.”

In Wyoming, more than 30% of adults are classified as obese, and 9.5% of adults are living with diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association.

Both of these statistics were cited as reasons for the governor’s nutrition-based executive order; however, neither statistic indicated whether a significant percentage of those obese and diabetic adults are receiving SNAP benefits.

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