{"id":363190,"date":"2025-11-07T22:52:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T22:52:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/363190\/"},"modified":"2025-11-07T22:52:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T22:52:11","slug":"usda-memo-says-full-snap-benefits-could-be-released-today-in-texas-as-houston-families-wait-for-relief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/363190\/","title":{"rendered":"USDA memo says full SNAP benefits could be released today in Texas as Houston families wait for relief"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\"><strong>HOUSTON<\/strong> \u2013 A new memo from the U.S. Department of Agriculture says the federal government is working to release full November SNAP benefits as soon as today, even as the Trump administration continues to argue in court that it doesn\u2019t have the funding to do so.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">In the memo sent to states, including the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, the USDA\u2019s Food and Nutrition Service wrote:<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cFNS is working towards implementing November 2025 full benefit issuances in compliance with the November 6, 2025, order from the District Court of Rhode Island. Later today, FNS will complete the processes necessary to make funds available to support your subsequent transmittal of full issuance files to your EBT processor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">At the same time, the Trump administration is asking a federal appeals court to pause that Rhode Island judge\u2019s order, calling the mandate to issue full benefits \u201cunprecedented\u201d and financially unworkable.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\"\/><\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">In court filings, the administration said there is only enough money to cover partial November benefits. \u201cThis is a crisis, to be sure, but it is a crisis occasioned by congressional failure, and that can only be solved by congressional action.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The filing argues the USDA cannot legally move funds from the Child Nutrition Programs, which fund free and reduced school meals, to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cIt cannot possibly be arbitrary and capricious for USDA to decline to raid school-lunch money to instead fund SNAP benefits, to starve Peter to feed Paul, as it were,\u201d the filing stated.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">While legal arguments play out in Washington, the uncertainty is hitting home in Houston. At the <a href=\"https:\/\/wesleyhousehouston.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/wesleyhousehouston.org\/\">Wesley Community Center<\/a> on the city\u2019s Northside, demand has surged as families wait for clarity on when their benefits will appear on their Lone Star cards.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Cars stretched for blocks around the building this week, with the pantry serving more than 600 households, one of its busiest days this year.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\"\/><\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cWe know our community\u2019s being affected by reductions in SNAP benefits, folks not working right now because they are federal employees and not getting paid,\u201d said Samantha Sherman, the center\u2019s Chief Program Officer. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing a lot of first-timers, people we\u2019ve never seen before, coming here for the food support their families need right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Sherman said the center isn\u2019t restricted to zip code, meaning families from across the Houston area, from Spring to Channelview, are turning to pantries like Wesley for help.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cOur normal structure isn\u2019t equipped to handle this volume,\u201d she said. \u201cIt stresses our financial resources, our people resources, and our food resources.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">For residents like Lewis Pye, who depends on SNAP each month, the uncertainty has been difficult.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cThey already sent me a letter telling me I wasn\u2019t going to get nothing for this month,\u201d Pye said, as he had groceries put into his car from the Wesley Community Center.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Pye said the emergency food will help for now, but he\u2019s still waiting for the benefits that typically arrive this week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The USDA memo indicates that states could begin processing full November SNAP benefits later today, but the administration\u2019s legal challenge continues.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">That means families may not see funds immediately or could still face delays, depending on the outcome of the appeal.<\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston &#8211; All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2013 A new memo from the U.S. Department of Agriculture says the federal government is working to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":363191,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5130],"tags":[176060,4345,176058,176062,176059,176061,358,3187,176063],"class_list":{"0":"post-363190","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-food-assistance-houston","9":"tag-houston","10":"tag-houston-families-snap","11":"tag-snap-benefits-delay","12":"tag-snap-benefits-november","13":"tag-snap-legal-challenge","14":"tag-texas","15":"tag-tx","16":"tag-wesley-community-center"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=363190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363190\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/363191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=363190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=363190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}