The Trump administration said on Monday that it will partially fund November’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly referred to as food stamps, to help support millions of low-income Americans. However, officials warned that many states may experience major delays, which could take weeks or even months to determine and disperse the assistance.
The plan, outlined in a USDA filing made to a federal court in Rhode Island, follows an order from the judge last week that called on the government to use emergency funds to guarantee at least partial payments to SNAP recipients following a lapse caused by the ongoing federal government shutdown.
A Historic First for SNAP
This marks the first time in the 60-year history of the SNAP program that partial payments have been issued. Typically, SNAP benefits — which help more than 42 million Americans afford groceries — are fully funded monthly by the federal government and administered through state agencies.
Patrick Penn, the USDA’s Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, said in a court filing that state agencies would need to change their systems to process reduced payments — a technical challenge that could take “anywhere from a few weeks to several months.”
“We are committed to getting benefits out as quickly as possible,” Penn said, “but the complexity of recalculating payments for millions of households will take time.”
Legal Pressure and Partial Compliance
The administration’s move comes after a coalition of Democratic-led states sued the federal government, urging the USDA to draw on available contingency and reserve funds to continue the program. The Department of Justice confirmed on Monday that the USDA will comply with U.S. District Judge John McConnell’s order to exhaust its contingency funds.
The filing notes that the USDA will use all $5.25 billion of its contingency reserves, but that amount covers only about half of the funding required for a typical month. The total cost of SNAP benefits can range from $8 billion to $9 billion a month.
Of the contingency funds available, $600 million will be for state administrative costs, while $4.65 billion will be distributed for partial benefits, representing an estimated 50% of each eligible household’s monthly allotment.
Political and Legal Fallout
Critics say the administration’s approach is not enough to solve the crisis. Amy Klobuchar, top Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, accused the administration of “playing politics with hunger.”
“It’s not enough to do the bare minimum,” Klobuchar said in a statement. “The administration should use every available resource to ensure Americans can put food on the table.”
Skye Perryman, chief executive officer of Democracy Forward — the advocacy group representing the coalition of states — said her organization is “considering all legal options to secure full funding” for SNAP recipients.
Delays Expected in Distribution
USDA said the funds would be made available immediately, but the distribution will vary state by state because each state must determine the partial amount of benefits being issued individually and then send that information to their EBT processors.
Conduent, one of the largest EBT processing firms serving 37 states, said it could begin loading benefits once updated data is received from the states.
Broader Financial Context
SNAP benefits are distributed to individuals and families with incomes below 130 percent of the federal poverty line, about $1,632 per month for a single person or $2,215 for a family of two. The program acts as a vital safety net against hunger for millions of working families, seniors, and people with disabilities.
Two federal judges — McConnell in Rhode Island and Indira Talwani in Boston — recently noted that the administration had access to a different fund with $23 billion. However, Penn wrote in his filing that the USDA concluded those funds should be used to fund child nutrition programs — like the National School Lunch Program rather than SNAP.
A Growing Food Security Challenge
Food banks, advocacy groups, and state governments alike have raised alarms about the uncertainty of November’s SNAP payments, warning of potential spikes in food insecurity if full funding isn’t restored soon. If delays continue, millions of low-income families may see disruptions in their ability to buy groceries, especially as food prices remain high and inflation continues pressing household budgets. The tussle continues in the courts, but the decision by the administration drives home a stark reality: that America’s largest food assistance program now faces unprecedented operational and political challenges, with many families waiting anxiously for relief.
