2:31A “SNAP welcomed here” sign is visible at the doorway of a Big Lots store in Portland, Oregon, Oct 28, 2020.Getty Images
One of the most significant consequences of the government cessation is poised to severely affect tens of millions of America’s neediest people: the cessation of a vital food aid initiative.
A number of states are now cautioning they will be compelled to halt Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program stipends beginning Nov. 1 should the shutdown persist.
SNAP, frequently known as "food stamps," supports approximately 42 million Americans with minimal incomes. The initiative, managed by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, provides electronic allocations that can be utilized like currency to procure sustenance.
A “SNAP welcomed here” sign is seen at the entrance to a Big Lots store in Portland, Oregon, Oct 28, 2020.Getty Images
Texas is presently alerting its millions of beneficiaries that all November SNAP stipends will be discontinued if the cessation extends beyond Oct. 27.
Pennsylvania officials indicate they will also be unable to disburse SNAP stipends if the cessation — currently in its 21st day — continues.
"Because Republicans in Washington DC failed to enact a federal budget, precipitating the federal government cessation, November 2025 SNAP stipends cannot be distributed," an announcement on the state's Department of Human Services webpage states.
Other states, including Minnesota and New York, are disseminating analogous alerts — expressing that stipends are "at risk" or "might be postponed" if the cessation continues.
SNAP has historically been exclusively federally financed, but is managed by states. Consequently, the cessation's consequence on SNAP and the period when stipends will commence to dwindle will differ from state to state.
The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, October 20, 2025.Kylie Cooper/Reuters
Earlier in the month, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children — generally referred to as WIC — obtained $300 million from the White House to assist in sustaining the initiative through Oct. 31 amidst the cessation, but states are now anticipated to exhaust funds as soon as the following month.
WIC — which aids over 7 million low-income mothers, young offspring, and expectant parents in acquiring nourishing edibles — is on the precipice of depleting its resources as soon as Nov. 1 unless the government reopens or secures supplementary emergency financing. In the past, the White House declared it would employ tariff income to defray WIC stipends.
"Absent additional financing, State WIC Agencies may be compelled to implement severe actions that preclude families from obtaining the services they require, such as suspending food stipends. This would directly endanger the health and sustenance of millions of mothers, infants, and young children," National WIC Association CEO Georgia Machell communicated in a declaration on Tuesday.
In a correspondence to state health functionaries earlier this month, Ronald Ward — the acting director of SNAP — cautioned that "if the present lapse in appropriations persists, there will be inadequate assets to remit full November SNAP stipends for approximately 42 million individuals throughout the Nation."
This has already constituted a volatile period for SNAP. President Donald Trump's colossal legislative package already decreased the program by an estimated $186 billion over a decade.
ABC News' Justin Gomez contributed to this dispatch.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
