Two federal judges ruled nearly simultaneously on Friday that President Donald Trump’s administration must continue to fund SNAP, the nation’s biggest food aid program, using contingency funds during the government shutdown.
The rulings came a day before the U.S. Department of Agriculture planned to freeze payments to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program because it said it could no longer keep funding it due to the shutdown.
The program serves about 1 in 8 Americans and is a major piece of the nation’s social safety net. Word in October that it would be a Nov. 1 casualty of the shutdown sent states, food banks, pantries and SNAP recipients scrambling to figure out how to secure food. Some states said they would spend their own funds to keep versions of the program going.
The program costs around $8 billion per month nationally.
Democratic state attorneys general or governors from 25 states, as well as the District of Columbia, challenged the plan to pause the program, contending that the administration has a legal obligation to keep it running in their jurisdictions.
The administration said it wasn’t allowed to use a contingency fund with about $5 billion in it for the program, which reversed a USDA plan from before the shutdown that said money would be tapped to keep SNAP running. The Democratic officials argued that not only could that money be used, it must be. They also said a separate fund with around $23 billion is available for the cause.
A federal judge in Rhode Island ruled from a bench that the program must be funded using at least the contingency funds – and asked for an update on progress by Monday.
A Massachusetts-based judge also gave the administration until Monday to say whether it would partially pay for the benefits for November with contingency money or fund them fully with additional funds
It wasn’t immediately clear how quickly the debit cards that beneficiaries use to buy groceries could be reloaded after the ruling. That process often takes one to two weeks.
The rulings are likely to face appeals.
In a hearing in Boston Thursday on a legal challenge filed by the Democratic officials from 25 states, one federal judge seemed skeptical of the administration’s argument that SNAP benefits could be halted.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani told lawyers that if the government can’t afford to cover the cost, there’s a process to follow rather than simply suspending all benefits. “The steps involve finding an equitable way of reducing benefits,” said Talwani, who was nominated to the court by former President Barack Obama.
Talwani seemed to be leaning toward requiring the government to put billions of dollars in emergency funds toward SNAP. That, she said, is her interpretation of what Congress intended when an agency’s funding runs out.
“If you don’t have money, you tighten your belt,” she said in court. “You are not going to make everyone drop dead because it’s a political game someplace.”
Talwani said her ruling would apply nationwide, not just in the states that are part of the challenge. That could defy the intentions of the U.S. Supreme Court, which has limited the use of nationwide injunctions, though it hasn’t prohibited them.
Meanwhile, states, food pantries and recipients have been bracing for an abrupt shift in how low-income people can get groceries.
Local food pantries have been preparing for SNAP pause
In Northeast Mississippi, local food pantries have been preparing for the potential SNAP pause for weeks.
“(We’re) trying to accumulate as much as we can to get ready. We are anticipating we are going to be giving out a lot more food unless something changes,” said Richard Maynard, board president of Nettleton-based F.A.I.T.H. Food Pantry, told the Daily Journal earlier this week.
Hunger Coalition of Northeast Mississippi Executive Director Jason Martin, who also manages the St. Luke Food Pantry on South Eason Blvd, said the nonprofit works with other organizations indirectly to assist food pantries. As of Thursday, he said the coalition was not ready to divulge its plans for how they will handle the pause in food benefits.
“We are trying to formulate a plan that makes sense not just in Lee County but our region … to support people who lost SNAP benefits,” he said, noting that he’s seen a lot of people standing up to help in this time.
Among those stepping up is a locally formed group dubbed “TupeloCore.” According to information the group shared on social media, its purpose is to get food into the hands of those in need. Parties interested in either helping or donating to the group can contact them at [email protected].
The intersection of the food pantry and SNAP benefits is closely related, Martin said, noting that SNAP is meant as a short-term solution to food insecurity.
“The folks that come to the food pantries most of the time, they qualify for SNAP benefits, but they don’t always have SNAP benefits due to … some of the red tape,” he said.
Meanwhile, F.A.I.T.H. Food Pantry, located at 102 Front Avenue in Nettleton, is preparing for an influx of those in need. Maynard noted that they’ve received double the normal number of their usual calls since the announcement in early October.
For those who don’t need food but would like to help those who do, Martin and Maynard both said the best way to help is through monetary donations. Martin said pantries typically have more buying power than an individual because they buy in bulk, meaning that cash is spread further in their hands.
Maynard said his food pantry recently received a truckload of dry goods from a wholesaler but added that there were some issues with their regular distributor, Midsouth Food Bank.
“We feel like this will be the best time to do this because we don’t know what’s going to happen for the next few weeks,” he said of restocking the pantry, adding that November is typically one of the most active months the pantry has.
The Salvation Army, which serves three meals a day at no cost to participants, also has a food pantry. Those in need can apply for every three months with a case worker.
“We do the very best to meet the needs of each family in particular,” said Capt. Micheal Chisholm. “We are accepting applications … We give until we don’t have anymore … We try to bridge the gap. We are hoping this will work itself out as soon as possible.”
While food pantries will be there to fill the gap left by SNAP benefits pausing, the Lee County School District urged parents who are out of work during the shutdown or who are experiencing reduced income because of it to either apply or reapply for free or reduced lunches so they can make sure their child has the nutrition they need.
A push this week to continue SNAP funding during the shutdown failed in Congress.
To qualify for SNAP in 2025, a family of four’s net income after certain expenses can’t exceed the federal poverty line, which is about $31,000 per year. Last year, SNAP provided assistance to 41 million people, nearly two-thirds of whom were families with children, according to the lawsuit.
According to the USDA, the average monthly SNAP benefit per person is $190. The average monthly benefit per household is $356.
