Nationwide — The Trump administration has announced that it will restart the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), but recipients will receive only half of their usual monthly benefits. Officials say the partial payments will be funded by a $4.65 billion contingency reserve within the U.S. Department of Agriculture — an amount that covers just half of the $8 billion typically distributed each month to 42 million Americans who rely on food assistance.
In a court filing, government lawyers warned that spending the entire reserve will leave no money for new applicants, disaster relief, or emergency use if the program faces another shutdown. The administration declined to use additional funding sources, claiming that doing so could reduce money available for school meal programs that serve children across the nation. The move comes amid a prolonged federal government shutdown that has halted numerous essential services.
According to NPR, two federal judges recently ruled that freezing SNAP payments was unlawful, emphasizing that Congress had already provided more than $5 billion in emergency funds for this exact scenario. Judge John McConnell Jr. in Rhode Island ordered the contingency funds to be used immediately, while Judge Indira Talwani in Boston said the government could also use customs revenue if it chose. Despite those rulings, the administration says it will limit payments to half while seeking clarity on how to proceed.
The nonprofit legal group Democracy Forward, which helped sue the government over the funding freeze, said it will continue pushing for full restoration of benefits. “It shouldn’t take a court order to force our President to provide essential nutrition that Congress has made clear needs to be provided,” said Skye Perryman, the organization’s president and CEO. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the administration would not appeal the judges’ rulings but cautioned that processing payments could take several days.
Officials have also warned that the process will be complicated. State agencies must reprogram their eligibility systems to issue partial payments, which could delay disbursements for weeks or even months. Many low-income families typically receive their benefits early in the month, and the reloading process alone can take a week or more in most states.
With millions of Americans now facing reduced food budgets, anti-hunger organizations are bracing for a surge in demand. Some states, including Arkansas, New Hampshire, and Washington, say they will use local funds to fill the gap, though federal officials have made clear that states will not be reimbursed. Food banks and community ministries nationwide, already stretched thin, warn that they cannot replace the billions in lost aid as the 2025 government shutdown continues.