OPB’s First Look: Filling the SNAP gap

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Good morning, Northwest.

Oregon and Washington are sending money to food banks as the federal government cuts off food assistance during the government shutdown.

We start this morning with how Northwest states are preparing.

Also this morning, OPB education reporter Natalie Pate takes a closer look at the social, emotional and academic development of Oregon kids affected by COVID shutdowns.

Today’s newsletter concludes with a man paddling a giant pumpkin down the Columbia River.

Here’s your First Look at Thursday’s news.

—Bradley W. Parks

Kotek sends $5 million to food banks as SNAP cutoff date gets closer

Gov. Tina Kotek announced the state is sending $5 million to food banks as Oregon braces for a cutoff of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program expected at the start of November.

The program, often called SNAP, is federally funded and the cutoff is due to the ongoing partial government shutdown. The program feeds more than 1 in 6 people in the state who use the money to buy groceries.

Oregon has warned that more than 750,000 people in the state could lose their monthly benefits.

Kotek’s announcement comes on the heels of Washington’s Gov. Bob Ferguson directing $2.2 million to food banks in his state earlier this week to offset the loss of SNAP benefits. (Lauren Dake)

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Related: Washington directs state dollars to food banks as SNAP funding cliff nears

3 things to know this morning

• A federal trial in Portland about the president’s authority to deploy the National Guard to the city started with a stunning revelation: Troops briefly deployed to a federal immigration building in South Portland this month, appearing to defy a court order issued hours earlier blocking their deployment. (Conrad Wilson and Troy Brynelson) 
• Oregon leaders closed brick-and-mortar schools five years ago as the COVID-19 pandemic swept the planet. The decisions profoundly affected the academic and social-emotional well-being of hundreds of thousands of Oregon children. (Natalie Pate) 
• Portland Mayor Keith Wilson has directed police to start enforcing the city’s camping ban on Nov. 1. Courts, service providers and others close to the work say they’re in the dark about how it will work. (Alex Zielinski)

Headlines from around the Northwest

• Bulletin newspaper union pickets in Bend over contract negotiations (Kathryn Styer Martínez)
• PeaceHealth cuts 2.5% of its workforce in Oregon, Washington and Alaska (Nathan Wilk)
• Head Start programs in Southwest Washington start to shrink as federal funding dries up (Erik Neumann)
• Portland councilors will mull policy that would target property owners who lease to detention centers (Alex Zielinski)
• As Northwest faces rolling blackouts, study says renewable energy may not be enough (Monica Samayoa)
• Wildlife officials warn residents of coyotes after child was grabbed in Portland (OPB staff)
• Increased ICE presence takes a toll on Oregon’s Latino businesses (Mia Maldonado) 
• Jrue Holiday scores 27 points, hits late free throws to help Blazers hold off Jazz 136-134 (John Coon)

Oregon man climbs aboard his gourd for another record-breaking boat ride

Earlier this year, Gary Kristensen paddled his way into the record books, riding 58 miles down the Columbia River in a giant pumpkin he grew and carved. This year’s trip from Bonneville to St. Helens broke his previous world record pumpkin boat ride of 46 miles.

And the Happy Valley pumpkin paddler didn’t stop there. This month he also won his fifth West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta in yet another ginormous gourd he grew.

Before taking off this May, he said he wanted to repeat his feat because he felt he “could have gone farther the first time.”

He felt that same itch after his ride this year. “I wanted to keep going,” he said. “And I think the pumpkin wanted to keep going too.” (Noah Thomas)

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