Federal Government Shutdown - Impacts to DSHS and the Washington Residents We Serve
Thursday, 11/13/2025 - Updated with news about shutdown ending
Update: Congress passed and the president signed spending legislation to reopen the government on Nov. 12, 2025. DSHS is issuing full November food and cash benefits to people in Washington state on their usual dates. In addition, we are processing new applications for benefits that were submitted after Oct. 16, 2025, as quickly as possible.
To confirm benefits have been loaded to EBT cards, we encourage households to use the ebtEDGE or MyWABenefits apps or call the phone number on the back of their EBT cards. For questions about the amount of food benefits received or if benefits aren’t loading onto EBT cards by their usual issuance dates, contact your local DSHS office or our Customer Service Contact Center at 877-501-2233.
People should keep applying, renewing and reporting any changes that might affect their benefits, which will help make sure they get the benefits they are eligible for as soon as possible.
People can continue taking steps to protect their incoming benefits and their personal information by securing their EBT cards through the ebtEDGE app or at ebtEDGE.com.
At the direction of Gov. Ferguson and the Office of Financial Management, DSHS transferred $2.2 million from the state-funded Food Assistance Program to WSDA for emergency food assistance to support food banks for the first week of November. Because full November food benefits are being issued, additional transfers are not planned.