Overview
- About 42 million people would miss November SNAP benefits unless Congress restores funding, according to the USDA’s public notice.
- USDA says roughly $5–6 billion in contingency money is not legally available for routine payments, and the administration has declined to deploy it despite calls to free partial funds.
- States are warning recipients and rolling out stopgaps, with California deploying National Guard support and advancing $80 million to food banks as other states caution that any state spending may not be reimbursed.
- WIC faces parallel strain, as the National WIC Association seeks about $300 million in emergency funds to keep services running into early November.
- Viral claims that Walmart will close stores on November 1 are false, and the retailer continues to accept EBT SNAP for online purchases.