Feeding The Hungry Takes Center Stage At Morrisey Press Conference

State officials announced Thursday improved support for the state’s digital ID system. But attention quickly turned to food needs.

Gov. Patrick Morrisey was joined by Department of Transportation officials Thursday to announce that Apple Wallet now supports West Virginia drivers licenses and state IDs.

“We believe that over the course of the upcoming months and years ahead, West Virginians are going to be able to seamlessly and securely present their ID in person, as apps and online at institutions where the ID is accepted,” Morrisey said. “Right now, West Virginians with the app, they can participate in identity verification and more than 250 TSA security checkpoints nationwide. And I think that’s going to be terrific for so many people, and it’s only going to grow.”

This comes almost two years after the state first announced digital vehicle registration cards and mobile IDs.

But Morrisey’s attention was also on the effects of the federal government shutdown, which he has taken to calling the “Schumer Shutdown.” Many of the roughly 26,000 federal workers in West Virginia are already feeling those effects as the shutdown approaches its fourth week, and food banks have reported they’ve already seen an uptick in applications and inquiries for food assistance. 

Morrisey said he is making $1.1 million already appropriated by the state legislature available immediately to West Virginia food banks, and called on the public to donate to their local food bank.

“We want to make sure that people that are hungry, we’re very empathetic to the conditions they’re going through,” Morrisey said. “I wanted to start the process and to help accelerate what goes to the food banks.”

Nationally, officials have warned that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits may stop in November if the shutdown continues. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, almost 300,000 people in West Virginia rely on SNAP benefits, with one third of those recipients being children.

Morrisey said the state cannot absorb the loss of $540 million in federal funds that go to the SNAP program each year, but wants to make sure that people have access to the food that they need.

“When you look at that, and the amount per month, that’s a heavy lift for the state,” he said. “However, we do want to make progress.”