#SNAP

Hawaiʻi Department of Human Services says its electronic benefit transfer, or EBT, vendor Fidelity Information Services sent some beneficiaries SUN Bucks card instead of regular Kōkua card.

Replacement benefits are available to eligible households that lost food purchased with the SNAP benefits due to storm-related household misfortune, including power outages.

The $10 billion budget prioritizes investments that support local families, strengthen essential public services, and build long-term resilience for Hawaiʻi’s communities.

Hawaiʻi Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program now shares monthly referrals with Women, Infants and Children via a new referral process to help identify families who might qualify but are not yet enrolled.

Trump’s administration says funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also still commonly referred to as food stamps, would not be distributed starting next week unless those states give up information about benefit recipients.

President Donald Trump signed a funding bill on Wednesday night that ends the stalemate over the funding bill.

Hawaiʻi was one of several states to make the SNAP payments for November before the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily paused two rulings ordering emergency funds be used for the food program during the federal shutdown.

If the funding vote passes, about 14,000 Native Hawaiians could qualify for $350 payments, while another 1,000 furloughed federal workers may be eligible for $1,200 in assistance.

All twelve state library branches on Hawaiʻi Island are accepting food donations in response to SNAP disruptions and the federal shutdown.

Federal judges have mandated that the Trump administration allocate contingency reserve funds to maintain the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) during the government shutdown.

Hawai’i Gov. Josh Green also announced state funding to help needy families with utilities and housing for the next few months.

The briefing will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday (Oct. 29) in Conference Room 309 at the state Capitol in Honolulu and also livestreamed on the House YouTube channel for those who cannot make it in person.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees met during an emergency session on Monday and directed the administration to work out details of the benefits program, including determining eligibility requirements and potential partnerships.

Under the new federal law, those affected must complete an average of 80 hours per month (20 hours per week) in qualifying work or training activity. Acceptable activities include paid or self-employment, volunteer service with a government or nonprofit organization, or participation in job training programs such as SNAP Employment and Training, or services at American Job Centers.

The Kaiser Family Foundation projects that 41,000 Hawaiʻi residents will lose Medicaid benefits due to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Households in Hawaiʻi will see a reduction in their monthly SNAP benefit because of adjustments made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the Thrifty Food Plan.

Hawai‘i U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz launches guide to learn more about how major changes to health care, food assistance and other services, as well as education and taxes, will affect thousands of island residents because of the new fedeal tax law.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, recipients who get “DA BUX” benefits receive an access card they swipe before their electronic benefits transfer, or EBT, card at checkout to get 50% off qualifying fruits and vegetables grown in Hawaiʻi at participating grocery stores.

The Food Basket, Hawaiʻi Island’s Food Bank, awarded $8.4 million to extend program through end of 2026, benefiting SNAP participants and local farmers statewide.

Hawai‘i will eliminate the “net income limit” for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, commonly called food stamps, which could extend benefits to 13,000 to 14,000 more households throughout the state by next year.