Overview
- USDA says it cannot issue November SNAP benefits during the shutdown, putting about 42 million recipients at risk of missing payments.
- At a Boston hearing, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani indicated she is likely to require the agency to use emergency funds while the case proceeds, and suggested any ruling could apply nationwide.
- New York declared a state of emergency and released $65 million for food relief, as Virginia, Oregon, Rhode Island and New Mexico also moved to bolster food assistance networks.
- Democratic attorneys general and governors from more than 20 states sued to force access to contingency resources, disputing USDA’s refusal to tap roughly $5 billion and pointing to other potential reserves cited at about $23 billion.
- Schools and nonprofits are coordinating with food banks and raising emergency funds as charities warn they cannot absorb the surge in need if federal payments stop.