Federal SNAP benefits will not be fully issued for the month of November
Due to the ongoing U.S. government shut down, SNAP benefits are unable to be issued in full, and on time, however some help is available from the Trump Administration and food banks
Photo courtesy of United States Department of Agriculture/Wikimedia Commons
This November, benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will not be issued regularly on Nov. 1. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), “SNAP is the nation’s largest nutrition assistance program.” As detailed by CNN, SNAP benefits had been distributed to “nearly 42 million people– or about 1 in 8 Americans– … according to the latest USDA data.” With the U.S. government still being shut down on Nov. 1, 2025–when SNAP benefits should have been distributed–and no federal funds to use, over 40 million Americans are now at risk of having no access to food, as stated by Politico.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a contingency fund to help support the SNAP program, as reported by USA Today. However, the USDA said in October that this money is only available “to supplement regular monthly benefits when amounts have been appropriated for, but are sufficient to cover, benefits.”
Since then, the USDA has responded to a court ruling issued by Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island which states that “the Trump Administration must tap into the fund to cover the lapse in SNAP funding caused by the shutdown,” according to CBS News.
In another court case in Massachusetts, two dozen states, along with the District of Columbia, filed to demand the Trump Administration use contingency funds for SNAP, as detailed by CBS. President Trump and Congressional Republicans disputed the rulings, saying that, “the contingency fund couldn’t legally be used to pay SNAP benefits because the underlying appropriation for the program had lapsed.” CBS reports that judges from both of the related court cases disputed this. The top Democrat on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Senator, Amy Klobuchar, commented on the matter, urging the Trump Administration to “stop playing politics with hunger and use all available resources to ensure Americans can put food on the table.”
Even though the Trump Administration has agreed to fund approximately half of all SNAP benefits this month, Nov. benefits have already been delayed for millions of Americans, and it is still unclear when relief will come from the Trump Administration. The process of loading the SNAP cards, which involves steps by state and federal government agencies and vendors, can take up to two weeks in some states. The USDA warned in a court filing that “it could take weeks or even months for states to make all the system changes to send out reduced benefits” according to AP News.
In New York alone, over one million American citizens rely on food assistance from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, as detailed by NYC.gov and current New York City Mayor, Eric Adams. As a result, Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency and pledged 65 million dollars in New York State funds to provide meals to New Yorkers.
Community fridges and food pantries are now stepping up to help fill the gaps in food assistance, but volunteers stress that they cannot fill this gap alone. The CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank in the New Orleans area, John Sillars, joined the morning talk show “Good Morning America” to talk about his team’s efforts. He said, “We are looking to community support more than ever. But we are going to serve those people as best we can… it will be a challenge, but we are up to the task.” Feeding America, a “network of over 200 food banks” states that “for every one meal that Feeding America provides, SNAP provides nine meals.”