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12h ago

States Warn SNAP Payments Will Halt in November If Shutdown Continues

A roughly $2 billion shortfall for November puts 42 million SNAP recipients at risk until a funding deal is reached.

A sign alerting customers about SNAP food stamps benefits is displayed at a Brooklyn grocery store on December 5, 2019, in New York City. (Scott Heins/Getty Images)
Fresh produce like strawberries and grapes are on display at a community market in San Francisco. Gov. Gavin Newsom said the federal shutdown means SNAP benefits, for food assistance, may be delayed for Californians next month.
Fort Myers, FL, USA – March 24, 2013: Several volunteers packing name brand canned, non-perishable food in boxes during a food drive at Next Level Church in Fort Myers, FL.
FILE - A California's SNAP benefits shopper pushes a cart through a supermarket in Bellflower, Calif., Feb. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Allison Dinner, File)

Overview

  • USDA told states SNAP is funded through October but warned there are insufficient funds for full November benefits, instructing agencies to delay issuance files and to pause some payments approved on or after Oct. 16.
  • Texas, Pennsylvania, California, Illinois, Minnesota, West Virginia, New York and others have alerted residents that November benefits will not be issued unless the government reopens, with some setting late‑October deadlines to avoid disruptions.
  • Contingency reserves are reported near $6 billion versus about $8 billion needed for November, prompting discussion of delayed or partial payments and prioritization if appropriations are not restored.
  • Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the program would run out of money in roughly two weeks and posted that there are not enough funds to provide SNAP on Nov. 1 without action.
  • Food banks and pantries are bracing for a surge in demand, with large impacts expected in states such as California (~5.5 million recipients), Texas (~3.5 million), Pennsylvania (~2 million) and Illinois (~1.9 million), even as separate WIC stopgap funding does not cover SNAP.