President Donald Trump’s administration said Monday that it will partially fund SNAP after a pair of judges’ rulings required it to keep the food aid program running.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture had planned to freeze payments to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program starting Nov. 1 because it said it could no longer keep funding it due to the shutdown.
The program serves about 1 in 8 Americans and is a major piece of the nation’s social safety net. It costs about $8 billion per month nationally.
It’s not clear how much beneficiaries will receive, nor how quickly beneficiaries will see value show up on the debit cards they use to buy groceries. The process of loading the SNAP cards, which involves steps by state and federal government agencies and vendors, can take up to two weeks in some states. The average monthly benefit is usually about $190 per person.
In downtown Jacksonville, News4JAX spoke with two SNAP recipients waiting at a bus stop. Both declined to appear on camera but shared how the disruption has affected them.
One man said, “I need some food right now. I had to call my sister to go to the store to get me some food.”
Another explained, “Got to pay bills. I took some of the bill money away.”
Local aid organizations have seen a surge in demand. Sharon Wright, vice president of operations at the Clara White Mission, said the partial funding will help some families but more support is needed.
“Normally we have our food pantry Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, but we allowed them to come today because the family needs that meal,” Wright said.
Since the shutdown began, the Clara White Mission has tripled the number of families it assists.
Georgia senator calls on Trump to broker SNAP negotiations
Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia on Monday visited a market near downtown run by Goodr, a group that provides food.
Warnock said Trump chose SNAP benefits at risk.
“SNAP recipients were not in this fight,” Warnock said.” They were dragged into this fight by the administration. And so I want you to think about this: They are literally pitting sick people against hungry people. I can’t think of anything more craven than that.”
The Georgia Democrat called on Trump to broker negotiations.
“What has he been doing during the shutdown?” Warnock asked. “I think there was a ‘Great Gatsby’ Halloween party over the weekend, putting a wrecking ball to the East Wing of the White House, while putting a wrecking ball to our economy.”
Warnock dismissed talk of Senate Republicans abolishing the filibuster to pass spending legislation and end the shutdown.
“If you don’t have the votes, common sense says you have to talk to the people in the other party,” he said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the nation’s largest food program, said last month that benefits for November wouldn’t be paid out due to the federal government shutdown. That set off a scramble by food banks, state governments and the nearly 42 million Americans who receive the aid to find ways to ensure access to groceries.
Most states have boosted aid to food banks, and some are setting up systems to reload benefit cards with state taxpayer dollars.
▶ Read more about SNAP funding
Trump predicts Democrats will capitulate to Republicans
“I think they have to,” Trump said during the “60 Minutes” interview. “And if they don’t vote, it’s their problem.”
With Senate Democrats now voting 13 times against reopening the government, insisting they need Trump and Republicans to negotiate with them first, Trump said Republican leaders should change Senate rules and scrap the filibuster.
“Republicans have to get tougher,” Trump told CBS. “If we end the filibuster, we can do exactly what we want.”
Senate Republicans have repeatedly rejected that idea, arguing that requiring 60 votes to overcome any objections is vital to the Senate, and has allowed them to stop Democratic policies when they’re in the minority.