Families Cannot Wait – Fully Fund SNAP Now
The federal government has been shut down for 38 days, which is now the longest government shutdown in US history. And with the start of a new month, and delay in SNAP benefits, people are desperate to feed their families. In past government shutdowns, there has always been a way to keep SNAP funded – and keep food on the table for people throughout our nation. This time is different. The Trump administration is choosing to allow our country to be devastated by hunger, and unconsciously appeal a court order that required them to fully fund SNAP by today.
Judge John J. McConnell Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, made clear that USDA has the funds available to them to fully fund SNAP right now, and yet the Trump administration is putting up a fight. The administration has claimed full funding of SNAP is not possible without putting child nutrition programs at risk. Although, with more than $20 billion in available funds, that means the $4 billion it would take to fill the current gap in SNAP payments would not jeopardize child nutrition programs – which USDA allocates about $3 billion to each month.
Judge John J. McConnell Jr. pointed out that the administration has overlooked the “fundamental point that compliance is achieved when Americans are fed, not when the federal government shifts the administrative burden of disbursing funds onto the States—especially when there is still no clear disbursement date in sight.” The administration agreed to fund up to 65% of eligible households’ current allotments for November. However, this actually means a significant reduction and delay in benefits for those households – while some people would not receive any SNAP for November at all.
Earlier this week, Governor Josh Shapiro stated that due to bureaucratic hurdles, it would take “well over a month” for benefits to reach the nearly 2 million people in Pennsylvania that rely on SNAP. And while those families are anxiously waiting, the Trump administration is actively choosing to use hunger as leverage in an effort to ram through a budget resolution that will make healthcare unaffordable for millions of Americans.
Instead of choosing to end this crisis and feed families, the administration has chosen to appeal Judge John J. McConnell Jr.’s order to fully fund SNAP benefits, and continue forward with only partial payments. We call on the Department of Justice to withdraw its appeal, and ensure that SNAP is immediately fully funded. Each day that our communities go without this critical assistance is another day millions of hardworking parents, children, veterans, seniors and people with disabilities go hungry.
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Contact Us:
Katherine Taylor, Communications Coordinator, katherinet@justharvest.org
Ann Sanders, Director of Public Benefits Policy and Programs, anns@justharvest.org
https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-administration-asks-appeals-court-immediately-halt-ruling/story?id=127294307 https://www.wesa.fm/politics-government/2025-11-05/pa-snap-benefits-trump
