The Virginia Emergency Nutrition Assistance (VENA) initiative will provide food benefits to individuals and households that have received support through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). VENA will be in effect in November for as long as SNAP is suspended due to the federal government shutdown.
What SNAP participants should know
- VENA will use existing SNAP/EBT cards.
- Participants will be eligible for VENA if they received SNAP benefits in October.
- VENA benefits will be issued weekly. That means a household would receive $50 each week, instead of $200 upfront for the full month.
- If a participant usually receives benefits on the first day of the month, they will receive benefits beginning Monday, Nov. 3. Monday will be their issuance day for VENA.
- If a participant usually receives benefits on the fourth day of the month, they will receive benefits beginning Wednesday, Nov. 5. Wednesday will be their issuance day for VENA.
- If a participant usually receives benefits on the seventh day of the month, they will receive benefits beginning Friday, Nov. 7. Friday will be their issuance day for VENA.
- More information is available from the Virginia Department of Social Services.
How Henrico County and the region are responding
Henrico is working closely with neighboring localities and Feed More, central Virginia’s nonprofit food bank, to ensure that the nutritional needs of all residents are met. About 116,000 individuals across the region typically receive SNAP benefits.
- Food is available. If you need food, check Feed More’s agency locator to find the pantry nearest to you. Feed More partners with 380 pantries throughout the community.
- Donations are needed. If you can, donate money or food to Feed More. If you’re interested in organizing a food drive, Feed More offers a toolkit to make it easy and successful. For its part, Henrico has increased its annual contribution to Feed More by $100,000.