The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Sunday that federal food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will not be issued on November 1, as the ongoing government shutdown continues with no resolution in sight.
The notice, posted on the USDA’s website, stated that contingency funds would not be used to continue the program, which provides essential food support to roughly one in eight Americans. “Bottom line, the well has run dry,” the USDA message read. “At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats.”
The Trump administration’s decision not to use the roughly $5 billion in contingency funds marks a significant escalation of the shutdown’s impact, with millions of low-income families now facing uncertainty about how they will afford food next month. The shutdown, which began October 1, is now the second-longest in U.S. history.
Administration officials have blamed Senate Democrats for the ongoing impasse, arguing they have refused to reopen the government until Republicans agree to extend expiring subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. Democrats have countered that President Donald Trump and his party must first agree to reopen the government before negotiations can begin.
Democratic lawmakers have written to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins urging the use of contingency funds to cover next month’s SNAP payments. However, a USDA memo obtained Friday states that the funds are “not legally available to cover regular benefits,” explaining that they are reserved for emergency relief, such as in response to major disasters. The memo cited Hurricane Melissa as an example of why maintaining those funds for emergencies is critical.
The possibility that food assistance could be halted has alarmed state officials across the political spectrum. While some states, including California and New York, have pledged to continue SNAP payments temporarily, the USDA has warned that states will not be reimbursed for covering those costs independently.
Other states, such as Arkansas and Oklahoma, have begun warning SNAP recipients to prepare for an interruption in aid, advising families to locate food pantries and local charities that provide emergency food support.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., criticized the administration’s refusal to negotiate, saying on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the situation could have been avoided. “The reality is, if they sat down to try to negotiate, we could probably come up with something pretty quickly,” Murphy said. “We could open up the government on Tuesday or Wednesday, and there wouldn’t be any crisis in the food stamp program.”
The USDA’s notice underscores the growing pressure on Congress and the White House to end the standoff before November 1, when millions of Americans rely on SNAP benefits to feed their families.
