Overview
- In filings to federal judges, the Trump administration said it will use remaining SNAP contingency funds to provide roughly 50% of normal November benefits after courts ordered the program to continue during the shutdown.
- USDA officials said they will not redirect Child Nutrition (Section 32) funds, arguing those dollars must protect school and child-feeding programs.
- States are receiving guidance to calculate reduced amounts, but officials caution that loading payments to EBT cards could take days or even weeks, and exact per-household figures remain unclear.
- About 42 million people missed regular early‑month SNAP issuances, and food banks and community groups from Pittsburgh and Chicago to Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Houston, Billings and Volusia County are reporting surging demand and emergency distributions.
- USDA’s move exhausts the SNAP reserve, leaving no cushion for new applicants or disasters and raising the risk of renewed disruptions next month unless broader funding is resolved.