Two federal judges rule on emergency SNAP funding during government shutdown

Two federal judges ruled that the Trump administration must continue to fund the SNAP food aid program using contingency funds during the government shutdown, according to the Associated Press. 

In a story by the Associated Press, the judges ruled Friday that the food aid program will be funded using emergency reserve funds during the government shutdown.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture planned to freeze SNAP payments starting Nov. 1 because it said it could no longer continue funding them due to the shutdown, according to the Associated Press. 

“The administration said it wasn’t allowed to use a contingency fund of about $5 billion for the program, which reversed a USDA plan from before the shutdown that said money would be tapped to keep SNAP running,” the article reads. 

Democratic leaders argued this, saying: “not only could that money be used, but that it must be.”

These officials also noted that a separate fund with around $23 billion is available for the cause.

The majority of states have announced more or expedited funding for food banks or novel ways to load at least some benefits onto the SNAP debit cards, including Hawaiʻi, which issued a $250 emergency relief payment per eligible individual.

Advocates who had been sounding the alarm for weeks about the pending SNAP benefits cut off let out a small sigh of relief on Friday as the rulings came down, while acknowledging the win is temporary and possibly not complete. Especially when a push this week to continue SNAP funding during the shutdown failed in Congress.

During a news conference in Washington D.C. today, Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, whose department runs SNAP, said the contingency funds would not cover the cost of the program for long.

Click here to read the full AP story.