Partial SNAP benefits will be paid to participants in November, but their delivery could be significantly delayed

USDA officials claim other funds cannot be used to pay November 
SNAP benefits in full. (USDA photo)

As the federal government shutdown drags into its sixth week, the Trump administration announced it would make partial payments this month to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants; however, it wouldn't predict when the reduced benefits would reach U.S. households, reports Zach Schonfeld of The Hill. 

On Friday, two federal judges "ruled the Trump administration must empty a multi-billion dollar emergency fund before cutting off SNAP," Schonfeld reports. "The judges indicated the USDA could use dollars from another funding source to fill the remaining gap for November."

The administration indicated it will not access other Department of Agriculture funds beyond the USDA's contingency fund, meaning that the November SNAP benefit will be reduced. "The administration says the fund has $4.65 billion available for households," Schonfeld explains. "It is not enough to cover the full November benefits, which are expected to cost upwards of $9 billion."

The Trump administration flatly rejected the judges' suggestion to redirect USDA money to fully fund November SNAP payments. Patrick Penn, who oversees the SNAP program at the USDA, wrote in a sworn declaration, "Section 32 Child Nutrition Program funds are not a contingency fund for SNAP. Using billions of dollars from Child Nutrition for SNAP would leave an unprecedented gap in Child Nutrition funding." 

Although Penn said the USDA will begin providing states with details, he warned November payments could take "weeks or months" to reach beneficiaries.

$12 billion aid package for farmers is ready and waiting for federal government shutdown to end

Economic headwinds have left U.S. farmers struggling 
to plan 2026 crops. (Photo by Luke Thornton, Unsplash)

The Trump administration is preparing a $12 billion initial bailout package to help U.S. farmers "harmed by the president’s tariff policies," report Grace Yarrow and Meredith Lee Hill of Politico. 

The federal government shutdown is the one thing holding back the current farmer aid package. Politico reports, "Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) told reporters that a Market Facilitation Program — similar to the $28 billion farmer bailout Trump issued during his first-term trade wars — is 'all teed up and good to go.'"

The announced aid comes on the heels of the declared tariff truce between the U.S. and China. According to the article, "Trump secured new commitments from China to purchase U.S. soybeans, sorghum and wood, and to drop retaliatory tariffs on other agricultural products like meat, wheat and dairy."

American farmers have been trying to make a living despite tariff limitations, high labor and machinery costs and low commodity prices. Added economic stressors have made it difficult for farmers to plan 2026 crops.

The USDA 'lapse in funding' plan for SNAP is no longer on its website. Agency claims funds can't be used for SNAP.

Rural communities are often more dependent on SNAP to meet basic food needs.
(The Daily Yonder graph, from 2015 U.S. census data)

The Department of Agriculture had a contingency plan to continue Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits during the federal shutdown, but the 55-page 'lapse in funding' document recently disappeared from the USDA's website, reports Raymond Fernández of NOTUS. Rural counties are particularly vulnerable for any SNAP pause because their populations are more dependent on the program.

Despite the 'lapse in funding' plan, the USDA now claims its emergency fund can't be legally used to pay for SNAP during the shutdown. States working to cover a federal SNAP benefits pause with their own funds were warned by the USDA that the federal government will not reimburse them for any SNAP-pause spending.

In response to the USDA's refusal to access the contingency funds, a bipartisan group of two dozen states filed a lawsuit in federal court in Massachusetts, hoping the judge will compel the USDA to use the contingency funds to provide November SNAP benefits, report Tony Romm and Maya Shwayder of The New York Times. 

Proceedings in the states' lawsuit began Thursday, with the Trump administration "staunchly defending its decision to stop paying food stamps during the government shutdown, telling a federal court that it could not tap a tranche of available funds to provide aid to millions of poor Americans in November," Romm and Shwayder explain. "The arguments at times appeared to frustrate and confound a federal judge, who promised to rule soon."

Sevier County finds a way to keep Great Smoky Mountains National Park open despite government shutdown

Smoky Mountains National Park
(David Hertle, Unsplash)

Sevier County in Tennessee worked together with state officials, U.S. senators’ offices, and local partners to keep the Great Smoky Mountains National Park open despite the government shutdown that caused other parks around the country to close, Tyler Whetstone reported for the Knoxville News Sentinel.

Mayor Larry Waters said that keeping the park open during the shutdown is important as October draws a lot of visitors who contribute to the economies of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.

If the shutdown continues beyond November, they might not continue to keep it open because the costs might outweigh the benefits as visitation numbers drop in winter.

“I wish the federal government would look at us working together and getting this done,” Waters said in an interview with Whetstone. “I think it’s a good template for governments working in the interests of people.”

Local partners and organizations all pitched in money, some around $45,000, while the state of Tennessee gave $80,000 to keep the park running.

“One positive aspect of the routine threats of federal government shutdowns is it has allowed local governments to build up muscle memory on how to cope,” Whetstone wrote.

Trump administration announces no food aid for millions of people in November unless government shutdown ends

Roughly 20 million children rely on SNAP benefits for
food each month. (USDA photo)

As the second-longest federal government shutdown continues, millions of Americans who rely on grocery money from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) may go hungry. 

The upper banner of the Department of Agriculture's website reads, "The well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 1." About one in eight Americans relies on SNAP for food, which includes roughly 20 million children. 

The clash between Senate Republicans and Democrats has left each side blaming the other for the continued shutdown and the possibility of a SNAP benefit pause. Democrats refuse to reopen the government until Republicans negotiate with them on Affordable health care subsidies. "Republicans say Democrats must first agree to reopen the government before negotiation," reports Adriana Gomez Licon of The Associated Press. 

Democrats had hoped USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins would access a contingency fund to cover most of November's SNAP dollars; however, a USDA memo that "surfaced Friday says 'contingency funds are not legally available to cover regular benefits,'" Licon writes. The document notes that contingency funds are reserved for disaster relief.

Most states have also warned SNAP participants that benefits may not be made available on Nov. 1. Licon reports, "Arkansas and Oklahoma, for example, are advising recipients to identify food pantries and other groups that help with food."

Although some states, including Louisiana and Virginia, have told SNAP beneficiaries they plan to continue food aid, it's unclear whether they can legally do so. Licon adds, "The USDA memo also says states would not be reimbursed for temporarily picking up the cost."

States warn millions of SNAP and WIC recipients that a continued shutdown will pause November benefits

Area food banks are preparing for a surge in need.
(Adobe Stock photo)

At least 25 states issued benefit gap warnings to the more than 41 million Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients and nearly 7 million families who receive aid from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC," report Leah Douglas and P.J. Huffstutter of Reuters.

Minerva Delgado, who directs Alliance to End Hunger activities, told Reuters, "Families are going to be hurt by this should it continue, at a time we know families are struggling to make ends meet."

Food banks in states that issued SNAP and WIC warnings are already hard at work to meet increased demand. But some food pantries already face food shortages due to USDA cuts to its food bank support earlier this year.

Potential loss of grocery benefits would disproportionately hurt rural residents, veterans and elderly individuals who tend to be more dependent on SNAP benefits. Additionally, rural food pantries will face significant supply challenges because they rely more heavily on Department of Agriculture programs and have fewer private donors to help them.

According to Reuters, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told NewsNation that SNAP benefits would "go away" without a deal to reopen the government by November.

The liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities "estimates that about $5 billion is available in a contingency fund and is calling on the administration to use that for partial benefits in November," reports Geoff Mulvihill of The Associated Press. "Forty-six of the 47 Democrats in the U.S. Senate sent a letter Thursday to Rollins calling on her to release the contingency money."

States that issued verifiable benefit loss warnings include: Minnesota, California, Pennsylvania, Texas, California, Arkansas, Hawaii, Indiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, Kentucky, Florida, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Louisiana, Vermont and Virginia pledged to maintain food aid to recipients despite potential gaps in federal funding.

Census of Agriculture and other farm-related reports delayed almost 2 months because of federal shutdown

Data from the 2017 Census of Agriculture has been delayed for almost two months because of the lapse of funding during the five week partial federal government shutdown.

"The National Agricultural Statistics Service said Wednesday that, assuming funding remains available for fiscal year 2019, it plans to release the 2017 Census of Agriculture at noon on April 11. The report was originally set to be unveiled at USDA’s annual Agricultural Outlook Forum Feb. 21," Steve Davies reports for Agri-Pulse.

NASS is also rescheduling the release of dozens of reports meant to be gathered and/or released during the shutdown, since the agency's Agricultural Statistics Board couldn't collect data during that time. Click here for a full list of the delayed reports and when they are now scheduled to be released.

Food banks see increased demand because of shutdown

Food pantries all over the nation are seeing increased demand because of the season and the partial federal shutdown. That's an ominous sign for how the nation's most food insecure will fare if the shutdown continues and money runs out of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Mary Meehan reports for Ohio Valley Resource.

Not all the increased demand at food pantries is from SNAP recipients though; some is from furloughed federal employees who are having a hard time making ends meet after a month without pay, according to Mike Halligan, CEO of God's Pantry Food Bank in Lexington, Kentucky. "Wintertime is one of the greatest risks for people who are food insecure," Halligan told Meehan. "Electricity costs increase because you are lighting your home for more waking hours in the day. When kids aren’t in school because school is closed for weather or over a holiday, that food budget actually gets stretched further."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture gave SNAP recipients their February allotments early, on Jan. 20, as a legal workaround during the shutdown. The program is fully funded through February, but only has enough money in reserve to pay part of March's benefits for the nation's 3.86 million SNAP recipients, Chuck Abbott reports for Successful Farming.

Food pantries won't be able to provide enough help for the hungry if SNAP runs out, Halligan warned. "For every one meal that a food bank is able to distribute, SNAP provides 12," he told Meehan. "There’s no way that food banks and private support and other sources of public support can replace SNAP. There just aren’t enough resources to provide 12 times what the food bank distributes if SNAP stops."