The Trump administration announced that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would be partially funded in November following two judges’ orders to use an emergency fund to keep aid flowing.
But benefits could take weeks or even months to reach recipients who have no way of knowing how much the benefits will be. The USDA is warning people to expect about 50 percent of their monthly benefits since the emergency fund isn’t enough to cover 100 percent.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP, plans to use a $4.65billion emergency fund to get November benefits up and running again. However, the emergency fund isn’t enough to cover SNAP benefits in full, which cost about $8 billion monthly. The USDA said in court on Monday it only has enough money to provide beneficiaries with half of their normal monthly allotment.
The USDA didn’t release the funds before the Nov. 1 deadline, leaving benefits for millions of people delayed already.
While SNAP is federally funded, it’s administered by state agencies, which were still waiting for instructions Monday afternoon on how to move forward in calculating the partial per-household benefit.
In any case, all 50 states must immediately implement the 50-percent SNAP reduction. Single and two-person households must still receive the minimum monthly benefit.
Each state must continue accepting SNAP applications. Eligibility determinations will remain unchanged, but new applicants will still be subject to November’s 50 percent reduction.