by Jake Goldstein-Street, Washington State Standard
October 24, 2025
Federal food benefits for Washington mothers and their babies at risk due to the federal government shutdown will continue into mid-to-late November, the state announced Thursday.
Funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will allow the state to keep up food benefits under the Women, Infants and Children program, known as WIC, and support the 11 workers still administering it in Washington.
“It’s definitely a relief,” said Nicole Flateboe, executive director of Nutrition First, the state’s WIC association. “It’s food benefits through Thanksgiving, hopefully.”
The estimate of assistance lasting until mid-to-late November is based on current use. If enrollees start increasing their usage, the funding could run out sooner, according to the state Department of Health.
An agriculture department spokesperson said Thursday that the agency “utilized tariff revenue to fund WIC for the foreseeable future.” It was unclear exactly how much money the feds were providing.
WIC benefits have been among the most vulnerable to the ongoing shutdown. When the shutdown began Oct. 1, the state had about two weeks’ worth of funding to keep feeding low-income Washingtonians enrolled in WIC.
Redirected tariff revenue from the Trump administration is allowing states to get through October, but that $300 million infusion would only last through the end of the month.
In Washington, over 200 clinics serve more than 212,000 women and their children younger than 5 years old annually under the WIC program, according to the state. WIC helps nearly one-third of all newborn babies. Nationally, the program serves nearly 7 million Americans.
WIC helps mothers with access to healthy food, breastfeeding support, nutrition education and health screenings. Research has shown participation in the program helps avoid low birth weights and reduce maternal mortality.
The new money announced Thursday is focused on food benefits, not the program’s other services.
Earlier this month, King County and Seattle officials promised that the nearly 30,000 enrollees there would receive one-time vouchers for food and baby formula through a partnership with Safeway if funding runs out.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture funds the program, while the state Department of Health administers it in Washington. WIC participants can purchase food using electronic benefit transfer cards, which work like debit cards.
Money for the program flows from the federal government to the state and then some of it to the clinics, which provide WIC services and help to get people enrolled in the program.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has pledged to make back payments once the shutdown ends. But as of earlier this month, the state had not, Flateboe said. And the expenses are too big for some of the clinics to take on without a guarantee they’ll be made whole.
Earlier this month, Nutrition First called on the state to adjust its contracts with the clinics to ensure reimbursement. Flateboe said Thursday that the Department of Health is now working on revising those contracts.
Still, one of those clinics, at the Spokane Regional Health District, has issued layoff notices to roughly 30 employees effective at the end of October, out of fear of not getting reimbursed.
“Without this assurance, SRHD can only support staff costs through the end of October,” spokesperson Kelli Hawkins said in an email. “We are hopeful that the federal government shutdown will end soon, allowing for WIC funding to continue. At that time, SRHD can rescind the layoff notices and continue offering this vital service to our community.”
About 50 employees at the state health department have been temporarily laid off or had their hours reduced due to the shutdown. Most were working in the division that manages WIC. With the new funding, those employees will return to work Nov. 3, but if the shutdown continues, they could be laid off again three days later, said Department of Health spokesperson Raechel Sims.
Meanwhile, funding for federal food stamps — a program that is separate from WIC — is set to run dry at the end of October. Washington’s U.S. Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, along with other Senate Democrats, called on Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Wednesday to open up funding to allow benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to continue into November.
In a letter, the senators noted the way Rollins’ agency was able to open up funding to maintain WIC benefits and said the same should be done for SNAP.
“Americans are already struggling with the rising cost of groceries, and they cannot afford a sudden lapse in grocery assistance,” the letter reads. “We urge you to immediately communicate to states and committees of jurisdiction the USDA’s plans to disburse the contingency funding to state agencies and utilize all available legal authorities so that American families can get benefits without interruption.”
Washington State Standard is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Washington State Standard maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Bill Lucia for questions: [email protected].