As there is no clear resolution to the federal government shutdown, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) must use all the available Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) contingency funds to provide some SNAP benefits to recipients in November. This is the minimum step the agency must take. USDA can also use its discretionary authority, like it did for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) earlier this month, to find additional funds to pay out full SNAP benefits for November. USDA will need to act quickly to ensure states can provide available benefits on time.
“SNAP is a critical lifeline for 1.4 million Georgians, including more than 640,000 children,” said Ife Finch Floyd, Director of Economic Justice and the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute. “If the Administration can cover full or even partial SNAP benefits for November, it provides some certainty that families and individuals can go to the grocery store and buy the essentials and maybe something for Thanksgiving.”
SNAP Benefits Families and the Economy
By helping people afford groceries, SNAP reduces food insecurity by about 30%. Additionally, SNAP puts more than $3 billion into Georgia’s local economies, supporting retailers throughout the state, including more than 2,300 grocery stores and supermarkets, specialty stores, big box stores and farmers’ markets. People living in rural areas of the state are more likely to use SNAP than people in cities. About 17% of people living in small towns and rural areas utilize SNAP compared to 11% of people living in more populous metropolitan areas.
The government shutdown began when funding expired after Congress failed to reach an agreement to fund the government at the end of September. USDA was able to fully fund October SNAP benefits, but not November. However, USDA has close to $6 billion in the contingency fund, which can cover about two-thirds of SNAP benefits for a month. The USDA Lapse Funding Plan noted that contingency funds must be used for SNAP benefits under a prolonged shutdown.
Moreover, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins has discretionary authority to transfer funds from the agency’s other nutrition programs that have carryover funds from 2025, which include the prior year’s import taxes. The agency used these resources in early October to provide additional funding for WIC. These additional resources could help fully fund November SNAP benefits.
To ensure that families can put food on the table next month, the Administration must use all legal avenues to fund SNAP benefits immediately and give states guidance on the amount of benefits they should issue in November. Furthermore, USDA should remind states that they must continue to process SNAP applications during the shutdown and prevent a backlog of applications when the federal government reopens.
