Governor Glenn Youngkin has rescinded Executive Order No. 54, officially ending the State of Emergency in Virginia that was declared after a lapse in federal appropriations halted the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for residents.
Youngkin credited several state agencies, including the Virginia Department of Social Services, Department of Planning and Budget, Department of Accounts, and the Secretariats of Health and Human Resources and Finance, for their rapid response in creating the Virginia Emergency Nutrition Assistance (VENA) program. This initiative was implemented to temporarily replace SNAP benefits during the federal shutdown.
The VENA program provided the equivalent of one week’s worth of November benefits to eligible Virginians who were already enrolled in SNAP before the shutdown occurred. According to officials, Virginia was unique among states in being able to set up such a system to support those affected by the interruption in federal aid.
“Today, we close this chapter of an extraordinary emergency response in Virginia. We said we would protect the vulnerable and make sure hungry Virginians in need were not used as leverage, and we kept that promise,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “Virginia’s robust job growth and record business investment have delivered significant budget surpluses that enabled us to replace SNAP benefits with this parallel system and avoid major interruptions to these essential services.”
“I offer my highest commendation to the public servants at the state and local Virginia Departments of Social Services, the Department of Accounts, and Department of Planning and Budget, as well as the Secretary of Finance Steve Cummings and Secretary of Health and Human Resources Janet V. Kelly and their teams for their round-the-clock effort to do what no other state was truly able to do to protect their most needy.”
The order ending the emergency can be viewed at Executive Order 56.
