SNAP Benefits Disruption

• Food resources flyer:
  • English
  • Haitian Creole
  • Spanish
  • Brazilian Portuguese
  • Mandarin
  • Arabic

The Medford Council on Aging/Senior Center (located at 101 Riverside Ave) offers daily free hot and cold lunches. Also offered are free cold grab-n-go cold lunches.

The Senior Center also offers a free food pantry twice a month. View upcoming events here.

All Medford residents over the age of 60 are eligible for Senior Center programs. 

Free Food Resources in Medford Map

• Project Bread's FoodSource Hotline: Call or text 1-800-645-8333 to speak with a counselor who can help you find food resources and other assistance in your area. The hotline operates Monday–Friday, 8 am–7 pm, and Saturday, 10 am–2 pm.
• United Response Fund: The 13 United Ways across Massachusetts, in partnership with Governor Maura Healey's administration, established this fund to address the gap left by federal food aid disruptions.
• 211 Information and Referral: Dialing 2-1-1 can connect you with local food pantries and other community services.
• WIC and school meals: These programs would continue to be available even if federal SNAP benefits cease.
• The Greater Boston Food Bank: This organization partners with more than 500 hunger-relief agencies throughout eastern Massachusetts. Call 617-598-5022 or email snap@gbfb.org for assistance.

Parents and guardians of children under 5 can apply for WIC for your child. 

WIC, which stands for Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, is a federal assistance program that provides nutritional support, education, and healthcare referrals to low-income pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, as well as infants and children up to age five who are at nutritional risk. The program aims to safeguard the health of participants by supplementing diets with healthy foods, providing nutrition education, and connecting them with health and community services. 

Medford's closest WIC office is located at 239 Commercial St in Malden. Also offers remote services - call (781) 338-7578 or email Sharon Burton at sburton@hallmarkhealth.org.

To learn more, visit https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic.

The Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) is a MA program that applies state funds to your purchase when you use your EBT card to buy fruits and vegetables at participating farms. Learn more about HIP at https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-healthy-incentives-program-hip-frequently-asked-questions#

Please note that you must have a balance left on your EBT (even one cent). If your SNAP balance is zero ($0.00), you will not be able to use HIP until you have SNAP benefits available again.

You can use HIP when participating: Farmers’ markets, Farm stands, Mobile markets, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share programs. Please note: Traditional grocery stores or convenience stores do not participate in HIP.

The following locations are open after October and accept HIP:

• Haymarket Farmers Market at 100 Hanover St, Boston: open Fridays & Saturdays 3 a.m. - close
• Boston Public Market at Red Apple Farm & Siena Farms: open 7 days a week, 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.
• Medford Farmer's Market - learn more about winter markets here.

SNAP clients should continue to do business with the MA Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) normally. Clients are required to continue to submit all documents on time. DTA will continue processing applications and recertifications, though benefits may be delayed by the shutdown. 

People can apply and applications will be processed. However, benefits cannot be issued until the shutdown ends and the federal government authorizes states to resume benefit issuance. This means families should continue applying now so their applications are ready for processing once federal funding resumes, ensuring they receive benefits as quickly as possible when the shutdown ends.

• Malden YMCA Mystic Community Market: https://mv-ymca.org/food-security/mystic-community-market

• Vida Real monetary donations: https://vidareal.churchcenter.com/giving

• St. Raphael monetary donations: https://www.saintraphaelparish.org/online-giving

• Unitarian Universalist Church of Medford food pantry mission donation guide: https://uumedford.org/connection/food-pantry/

• Shelf stable, unopened, and unexpired food donations welcome at Medford micropantries: find locations here

• Unexpired, unopened, refrigerated food items welcome at the Medford Community Fridge at 75 Riverside Ave. NO FREEZER ITEMS.

• MAMAS monetary donations: https://bit.ly/donatetomamas

• United Way Response Fund monetary donations: https://unitedwaymassbay.org/united-response

• Malden YMCA Mystic Community Market: https://mv-ymca.org/food-security/mystic-community-market
• MelroseWakefield Hospital’s Mobile Food Market: contact kristen.a.giuliani@tuftsmedicine.org
• Micropantry and community fridge volunteer options: Anyone is welcome to come by and clean them at any time or post updates on the Facebook pages:
  • Medford Micro Pantries Food Mission
  • LOPH Community Fridge
• Volunteer with MAMAS: https://sites.google.com/view/mamasnextsteps-dec2024/home 

President Trump and the Republican majority in Congress have created this crisis: the immediate shutdown threatens November benefits for all recipients, while the One Big Beautiful Bill Act permanently restricts eligibility going forward and requires states to make significant changes to meet severe Payment Error Rate targets. Massachusetts must manage these challenges simultaneously.

In addition to local food resources, those affected can contact Project Bread's FoodSource Hotline at (800) 645-8333 to help navigate immediate hunger. You can call or text Project Bread’s Food Source Hotline to receive information about food resources in their area or talk with a Project Bread counselor. The hotline is available Monday-Friday 8 a.m. - 7 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Local food pantries and members of the Anti-Hunger Task Force are mobilizing resources. State funded programs like Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC), Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled and Children (EAEDC), and the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) will continue normally. Residents can still access WIC and school meals.

SNAP brings in more than $210 million monthly in federal funding. The state budget cannot absorb even one month of federal failure.  Massachusetts is working closely with community-based partners to support residents who are impacted by the Trump administration’s decision to withhold SNAP benefits, including through state-funded resources such as food banks, Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) benefits, and state-funded cash benefits like TAFDC and EAEDC.

DTA cannot issue SNAP until the Trump administration acts to fund SNAP or ends the federal government shutdown. If the shutdown continues past October 31, the Trump administration may not pay for November SNAP benefits on the regular schedule.  Any change to the regular SNAP benefit schedule is devastating for families that rely on SNAP to put food on the table.

The Trump administration waited months to issue guidance implementing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's provisions on Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWD) work rules, non-citizen eligibility, and the Standard Utility Allowance (SUA). DTA has been preparing while awaiting federal direction for consistent implementation across all states. 

Certain non-citizens who newly apply starting November 1st will not be eligible for SNAP based on eligibility changes made by the Trump Administration and the OBBB. Certain non-citizens who already receive SNAP but are impacted by these changed rules through DTA will be ineligible as of their next recertification period.

Beginning November 1, more people must meet ABAWD work rules at application or recertification. This includes parents with teens 14+, homeless individuals, veterans, and people up to 65. Over the next year, DTA expects up to approximately 99,000 more people to be required to meet strict work requirements to keep benefits. Because of the confusing and administratively burdensome nature of these rules, many of these people could lose their SNAP eligibility. 

If you are impacted by the new SNAP rules, you should talk with DTA staff at your recertification to get help with the changes. DTA will check if you have to meet the work rules during your Recertification. Before then, you do not need to contact DTA about the work rules. You can also talk to community partners near you to help understand the changes. A list of SNAP outreach partners can be found on Mass.gov.

Clients should continue to do business with DTA normally. Clients are required to continue to submit all documents on time. DTA will continue processing applications and recertifications, though benefits may be delayed by the shutdown. 

Governor Maura Healey and the United Way today announced a new fund to support Massachusetts residents whose Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are being put at significant risk due to choices made by President Donald Trump. The 13 United Ways across Massachusetts, serving all 351 communities, are joining forces to support Governor Healey’s efforts to respond to this crisis. People looking to help can donate to their local United Way or to the United Response Fund, which will rapidly provide resources in communities to mitigate impacts from federal delays in SNAP benefits.  

No. There will be no impact to Economic Assistance programs for the month of November and they will continue normally.

Yes. People can apply and applications will be processed. However, benefits cannot be issued until the shutdown ends and the federal government authorizes states to resume benefit issuance. This means families should continue applying now so their applications are ready for processing once federal funding resumes, ensuring they receive benefits as quickly as possible when the shutdown ends.

Yes, DTA offices will continue to operate and staff are continuing to process documents. Clients must continue to submit all required documents on time. DTA will process them immediately, and benefits will be issued as soon as the federal government authorizes resumption of SNAP. Missing deadlines could jeopardize your eligibility when benefits resume. 

Yes. If the Trump administration chooses to stop EBT cards from working, we will tell you.

November SNAP benefits will not be added to cards at this time due to the federal funding lapse. Families should budget their current balances carefully to stretch resources through the shutdown period. You can use your SNAP dollars to buy non-perishable foods like frozen and canned food to stretch your food budget.