The Trump administration announced on November 3 that it will distribute only partial food stamp benefits for the month of November, drawing from an emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) fund as the federal government shutdown persists.
The move follows the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s earlier warning that all SNAP payments would be halted starting November 1 due to the shutdown.
The contingency fund now being tapped contains about $4.65 billion—enough to cover only around half of November’s estimated $9 billion in SNAP costs. According to an official, the agency is required to fund 50% of eligible households’ current benefits.
In sworn court filings, the administration explained that it chose not to reallocate money from other programs to fully fund SNAP, citing the need to preserve resources for critical initiatives such as child nutrition programs.
The decision to release partial benefits came after a federal judge in Rhode Island—supported by similar rulings in several states—ordered the USDA last week to resume issuing full or partial SNAP payments using the contingency reserve.
Although the reduced benefits are now authorized, they will not be disbursed immediately. States must first recalculate the modified amounts, which may delay payments to the nearly 42 million Americans who depend on SNAP to purchase food.
With the emergency reserve nearly depleted, the announcement also raises urgent concerns about how benefits will be funded in December if the government shutdown continues.
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