Maryland Gov. Wes Moore declared a state of emergency and tapped $10 million in funds Thursday to help food banks facing increased demand due to federal furloughs and the looming end of federal food aid.

Moore’s actions do not earmark state funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, a federal program that gives people money to buy groceries.

Some 680,000 Marylanders are facing the prospect of losing SNAP benefits in November, as the federal government shutdown continues and President Donald Trump’s administration declines to tap a contingency fund to support the program.

Food banks and pantries have said they already are seeing unprecedented demand for help with federal government employees going without pay during the shutdown. They expect the loss of SNAP benefits will lead even more people to ask for help.

Food banks say they won’t be able to fill the gap. According to Maryland Food Bank estimates, SNAP provides nine meals for every meal provided by food charities.

Speaking at the Anne Arundel County Food Bank, Moore described Trump’s refusal to use contingency funds for SNAP during the shutdown as cruel. Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown and several state attorneys general have sued in an attempt to force Trump to use the money.

“What’s really unfortunate is that these are actions that the State of Maryland is taking because the actions that the federal government is taking are actively hurting our people,” he said.

Moore has said the state can’t afford to use its $3.5 billion cash balance to fund SNAP unless there’s an assurance that the federal government would pay the money back. The Trump administration has made no such assurance publicly.

Instead, Moore is turning to an account that collects money when certain tax revenues come in higher than expected known as the Fiscal Responsibility Fund. It has nearly $200 million available, Moore administration officials said.

Moore did not announce how the $10 million from that fund will be divvied up among the state’s food banks, pantries and assistance programs.

Maryland state lawmakers — both Democrats and Republicans — have pressed the Moore administration to tap the state’s $2 billion-plus Rainy Day Fund, at least for a month or two, to keep residents fed through the winter holidays. That would cost an estimated $123 million each month, according to state analysts.

The average benefit is $180 per month.

The state already funds a small boost to SNAP payments for some low-income seniors, so the state has a mechanism for quickly moving state cash onto participants’ EBT cards, according to Comptroller Brooke Lierman.

Asked by reporters why he wouldn’t use the Rainy Day Fund for SNAP, Moore said that no state can bear the burden for the federal government abdicating its funding responsibilities.

“There is no state that has the resources or the balance sheet to make up for when the federal government decides they are no longer going to provide something they are legally obligated to,” he said.

Moore added that he would continually evaluate the state’s response to the shutdown on a week-by-week basis.

That was welcome news to Del. Emily Shetty, a Montgomery County Democrat who is among lawmakers pressing the governor to use the Rainy Day Fund to pay SNAP benefits.

If the litigation to restore federal SNAP funding is not successful, “the continued state of emergency will allow for the government to dip into the Rainy Day Funds and could enable him to utilize those funds to temporarily extend benefits on EBT cards. And I would like to see it happen at least through the end of November,” said Shetty, who leads a subcommittee that reviews the budget for social services programs.

The push to use the Rainy Day Fund to ensure full SNAP benefits has come from both Democrats and Republicans.

“There certainly are sufficient reserves available to Governor Moore to pay some level of SNAP benefits for a period of time until the bickering politicians in DC can straighten themselves out and get the federal government running again,” read a statement from Del. Jason Buckel, the House Republican leader.

Buckel pointed to Virginia, where Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin is tapping emergency funds to make SNAP payments on a weekly basis.

Sen. Stephen Hershey, leader of Senate Republicans who is weighing a run for governor, was blunt: “Instead of restoring SNAP benefits through a program Marylanders already understand and rely on, the Governor once again passed on the opportunity to lead,” he wrote in a statement.

The federal government shutdown is the second longest in history at 30 days, and SNAP is set to become the first social safety net program to fully halt funding.

States have taken a variety of measures to help SNAP recipients. Some have declared states of emergency to free up state funds to replace some or all SNAP benefits; others have boosted funding for food banks and other aid programs.

Some local governments in Maryland have shuffled funds to help vulnerable residents. In Baltimore, Mayor Brandon Scott announced $4.6 million toward food programs, child care support and other needs.

And Montgomery County announced a $7.75 million plan to help food programs, nonprofits and other resources.