The ASUO (Associated Students Of The University of Oregon) office is located in the Erb Memorial Union 004. (Sebastian Flores/Emerald)

The Associated Students of the University of Oregon has planned a “Week of Relief” from Nov. 10 to 15 to assist students who have lost benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as SNAP.

SNAP was halted on Nov. 1 due to the ongoing government shutdown that has affected many other social services. Over 740,000 Oregonians currently receive SNAP benefits, according to the Oregon Department of Human Services. 

As of Nov. 4, the Trump Administration announced that Americans will only be receiving half of the amount they usually receive in SNAP benefits. 

In response, ASUO is currently working to assist students who may be affected by these changes, they expressed its support for students who are impacted in a social media statement put out on Nov. 3.

“ASUO stands in solidarity with every student affected by these decisions. We believe that access to food is a human right and that no student should have to decide between their education and their well-being,” the post said. 

According to ASUO President Prissila Moreno, the SNAP Benefits Emergency Plan came into fruition two weeks ago.

ASUO Executive Secretary of Basic Needs Brayden Higley said the “Week of Relief” will include efforts to get food and resources directly to students, and a flyer campaign that consists of members of multiple student organizations distributing flyers to collect donations. 

Higley said donations can be made online on the UO Foundation website, which will go towards programming.

“(Because we) are students, we have a unique perspective on things, and all the events and programming have been catered around students to try to get as many students as much relief as possible with having events at different times in different locations,” Higley said. 

Higley said that until SNAP benefits are fully restored, ASUO has no plans of slowing down its relief efforts. 

“(When the US government) fully commits to having all that money (back) in people’s accounts, and it’s in their accounts, is when we would start pulling back,” Higley said. 

Moreno said the emergency plan came from the ASUO executive team’s belief in a politically active student government. Higley added that ASUO has an obligation to serve students and will “stop at nothing to get that done.”

“We believe that student government is political and we should act that way because we see political decisions on the federal level and the state level impacting students, and we should respond with political action… We, as a student government within this political climate, can’t afford inaction, and that’s not something that we plan on ever doing this year,” Moreno said.

Updates on the SNAP Benefits Emergency Plan can be found on ASUO’s Instagram page.

Some local resources for those impacted by the SNAP pause include:

Cottage Grove Produce Plus Event

305 Coop Ct, Cottage Grove, OR 97424

First Wednesday of the month starting at 11:30 a.m. Third Tuesday of the month starting at 1 p.m.

McKenzie Center Produce Plus Event

2885 Chad Dr, Eugene, OR 97408

First Wednesday of the month starting at 9 a.m

West Eugene Produce Plus Event

2101 W 11th Ave, Eugene, OR 97402

Thursdays starting at 1 p.m.

Community food resources in Multnomah County include:

Multnomah Free Food Market

8129 SE Malden St, Portland, OR 97206

Every Friday from 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. Bring your own bags.

Correction: A previous version of this article misspelled ASUO Executive Secretary of Basic Needs Brayden Higley’s name. It has since been updated. The Emerald regrets the error.