Overview
- USDA says the program is out of money and that no Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits will be issued on Nov. 1 during the shutdown.
- The department refuses to tap roughly $5 billion in contingency funds it argues are legally restricted, a sum insufficient for a full month of benefits.
- Roughly two dozen states and Washington, D.C., sued to force use of reserves; at a Boston hearing, Judge Indira Talwani indicated she is likely to order emergency funding while the case proceeds.
- Governors are deploying state resources: New York declared a food emergency and released $65 million for food banks, Oregon pledged $5 million and a 60‑day food security emergency, and Virginia initiated state-level aid efforts.
- Schools, nonprofits and food banks report mounting strain and are expanding on‑site food distributions and emergency fundraising as 42 million recipients, including many children, brace for a potential lapse.