A federal program that provides food assistance to 40 million low-income people could be at risk in November if the government shutdown isn\u2019t resolved by then.<\/p>\n
And in at least some places, new applications for the program are not being approved.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s still a lot of uncertainty about the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, known as SNAP or food stamps, a vestige of a previous incarnation of food aid.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a look at where things stand.<\/p>\n
The food aid program benefits 1 in 8 people in the US<\/p>\n
SNAP is a major piece of the nation\u2019s social safety net, touching nearly 1 in 8 people in the country each month. They receive benefits on prepaid cards that they can use for groceries.<\/p>\n
The other big pieces of the safety net \u2014 Social Security and Medicaid \u2014 are expected to continue paying benefits during the shutdown.<\/p>\n
But because of the way it\u2019s funded, SNAP is vulnerable.<\/p>\n
In the accounting year that ended on Sept. 30, 2024, SNAP cost just over $100 billion, including the half of state administrative costs covered by federal taxpayers. It provided an average of $187 a month to 41.7 million people.<\/p>\n
States were warned about November benefits<\/p>\n
When the government shut down<\/a> on Oct. 1 amid a congressional budget impasse, a few things were clear about SNAP.<\/p>\n One was that benefits would continue through October.<\/p>\n The other was that it was unclear after that.<\/p>\n The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the program, sent letters on Oct. 10 to the state agencies that administer it telling them not to send certain files to the contractors that would clear the way for the EBT cards to be loaded at the start of November.<\/p>\n Different states send that information at different points in the month.<\/p>\n Carolyn Vega, the associate director of policy analysis at Share Our Strength, an anti-poverty advocacy group, said that pausing sending the information now doesn\u2019t mean that cards can\u2019t be loaded next month, with or without resumption of government operations.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s not good news, either. \u201cThe question marks are trending in a bad direction for November,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Finding money during the shutdown could be a challenge<\/p>\n A budget agreement that ends the shutdown would also restore SNAP funding.<\/p>\n Short of that, Vega said, it\u2019s possible state or federal governments could free up money to bridge the gap. She said that ahead of a looming 2015 shutdown, similar warnings were released and then reversed even before Congress reached a deal to keep the government running.<\/p>\n But because of the amount of money involved, she noted, that\u2019s a challenge. General SNAP costs far more, for instance, than the Special Supplemental Nutritional Program for Women, Infants and Children that helps 6 million low-income mothers, young children and expectant parents to purchase nutritional staples. President Donald Trump\u2019s administration has shored up that program<\/a> \u2014 for now \u2014 with $300 million.<\/p>\n Doing the same for the bigger program could cost about $8 billion a month.<\/p>\n And at tens to hundreds of millions of dollars monthly per state, finding state money to cover the costs could also be difficult. Peter Hadler, the deputy commissioner of Connecticut\u2019s Department of Social Services, told lawmakers in his state Thursday that there could another problem with trying to do that: He doesn\u2019t expect the federal government to ever reimburse states.<\/p>\n Hadler also said he expects the EBT network will be shut off at the retail level if the program isn\u2019t federally funded. In that case, even people with a balance could not access it.<\/p>\n States are figuring out how to react<\/p>\n More than 1 in 5 New Mexico residents receive SNAP benefits, at a cost of about $90 million a month.<\/p>\n The idea of those benefits disappearing is raising alarms in New Mexico, where more than 1 in 5 people relies on them. \u201cI think it\u2019s direct harm to New Mexicans, to New Mexico\u2019s communities and New Mexico\u2019s economy that is unprecedented,\u201d said state Rep. Nathan Small, a Democrat and chair of the main budget-writing committee.<\/p>\n But he said it\u2019s too early to say whether New Mexico might find options to mitigate any harm if the benefits are cut off.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re following up,\u201d Charles Sallee, director of the Legislature\u2019s budget and accountability office, told lawmakers at a hearing Wednesday, \u201cto verify whether food stamps is really out of money or if this is just a tactic that the administration is playing in the overall negotiation.\u201d<\/p>\n Minnesota\u2019s Department of Children, Youth, and Families told counties and Native American tribes not to approve new SNAP applications after Wednesday. And the state was preparing to tell recipients on Oct. 21 that benefits would not be issued for November, barring any changes.<\/p>\n \u201cAn interruption in receiving food assistance can be very disruptive \u2013 even dire \u2013 for the lives of Minnesota\u2019s families,\u201d Tikki Brown, the department commissioner, told local officials in the update.<\/p>\n Other SNAP changes are starting to kick in<\/p>\n The government shutdown isn\u2019t the only development that could cut access to SNAP.<\/p>\n