PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The USDA will fund half of SNAP benefits in November, according to a court filing on Monday. The filing comes in response to an order by the same court to use SNAP contingency funds already approved by congress to keep SNAP funded during the ongoing government shutdown. Recipients will not receive their benefits immediately.
The Rhode Island judge had ordered the administration to fully fund SNAP benefits for November, or partially fund them if only the SNAP contingency fund were to be used. In addition to the SNAP contingency fund of about $5.3 billion, USDA has another contingency fund available with approximately $23 billion already appropriated by Congress. In a court filing on Monday, the Trump administration said it was declining to draw funds from other sources to make up the difference in benefits.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program provides recipient households an average of $350 per month. In Washington, families cannot use SNAP benefits for hot prepared food.
The USDA told CNN that recipients may not see their benefit payments for weeks, if not months, claiming that states will have to reprogram their systems to accept the reduced amounts.
