Overview
- Following lawsuits by attorneys general from roughly two dozen states, federal judges ordered continued SNAP funding and the administration moved to use about $4–$4.65 billion in contingency reserves to cover roughly half of typical November allotments.
- USDA told a federal court it will not use Child Nutrition (Section 32) dollars, with a senior official saying those funds are not a contingency source for SNAP.
- States are now being notified of per-household reduction calculations, but agencies say loading reduced benefits to EBT cards could take days to weeks, with timing varying by state.
- Food banks and pantries from Detroit to Volusia County, Tampa Bay, Rhode Island, Atlanta, and Iowa report long lines and demand doubling or tripling, prompting large distributions and expanded outreach.
- Iowa will keep matching donations to regional food banks up to $1 million, and grassroots efforts like the Noxubee County giveaway continue, while advocates warn the reserve drawdown risks further gaps if the shutdown persists.