Sneak Preview: USDA To Provide Partial SNAP Funding for November
(The following was excerpted from a recent Thompson Grants Compliance Expert article.) The Trump Administration, in response to a recent court ruling, said that it would provide about $4.65 billion from the Department of Agriculture (USDA) contingency fund to restart Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding in November. However, this total would only fund about half of eligible household benefits this month, and agency officials stated that “it would take several weeks to execute the partial payments.”
Congress has not yet passed appropriations for federal fiscal year 2026 — including funding for the SNAP program — which has forced the federal government shutdown. USDA suspended SNAP benefits effective Nov. 1, stating that it could not fund the program due to the government shutdown, even though previously appropriated funds were available, including about $6 billion in contingency funds previously approved by Congress. In an Oct. 24 memo to state SNAP agencies, USDA stated that the agency was “suspending all November 2025 benefit allotments until such time as sufficient federal funding is provided, or until [the department] directs state agencies otherwise.”
In response to concerns about individuals and families losing their benefits, several organizations filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island. Democracy Forward, the Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island and the National Council of Nonprofits (NCN), along with other charitable and faith-based nonprofit organizations, municipalities and business organizations sought a temporary injunction, stating that the administration’s actions violated the Administrative Procedure Act and federal appropriations law by disregarding Congress’ direction that SNAP must continue operating.
U.S District Judge John McConnell on Nov. 1 granted a temporary restraining order blocking the administration’s halting of SNAP payments during the ongoing shutdown, ensuring that beneficiaries will continue to receive essential food assistance while the case proceeds. The court found that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on their claims that USDA acted without lawful authority in refusing to use available funds to sustain SNAP. It also found that the administration’s abrupt cancellation of long-standing SNAP work-requirement waivers in areas with persistent unemployment, which was done without notice, justification or statutory authority, is unlawful.
(The full version of this story has now been made available to all for a limited time here.)
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