(NEXSTAR) – It’s official: The federal government will not send out November SNAP benefits if the shutdown continues into the weekend.
While some states are scrambling to fund some form of continued food assistance, others are warning Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients should plan for empty accounts – unless they’ve budgeted very cautiously.
SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp Program, is a need-based program that helps low-income, no-income and disabled people afford groceries. The program is funded with federal dollars but administered by states.
People who qualify receive benefits monthly, but each state has its own system of how and when payments are issued. The benefits are loaded up onto an EBT card, which works like a debit card when someone shops at a SNAP-authorized retailer.
However, the United States Department of Agriculture, which runs SNAP, says those monthly benefits won’t be going out as long as the government stays shut down. While some states are trying to find ways to keep some funds going, the vast majority of affected families are being told to expect no new money on their cards after Nov. 1.
However, if they have money left over from October, those funds will automatically roll over and EBT cards will still be working in November.
“That’s money that’s already been appropriated. It’s been put on their card,” Mackenzie Libbey with Philadelphia-based nonprofit Community Legal Services told CBS News. “So we definitely do not want people rushing out to try to use up their benefits at the end of October thinking they’re not going to be able to buy anything in November.”
The funds won’t sit there indefinitely, however. According to the USDA, benefits can expire if they’re in a household’s account for longer than nine months or if an account has been inactive for nine months. States are required to give 30-day notice before permanently expunging any accounts.
The amount people get monthly is influenced by their income, state of residence and household size. As of Oct. 1, the maximum allotment for an individual living in the 48 contiguous states was $298 per month. A family of four can receive up to $994.
When SNAP benefits do resume, new work requirements are expected to take effect as a result of the One Big Beautiful Bill passed into law over the summer.
An estimated 42 million people, or 1 in 8 Americans, rely on SNAP to help cover the cost of groceries.
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