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The country’s flagship nutrient assistance strategy serves 1 successful 8 Americans each month.
Published On 3 Nov 2025
The United States authorities volition partially money nutrient benefits for low-income Americans aft 2 judges ruled the programme indispensable proceed amid a languishing government shutdown, US President Donald Trump’s medication has said.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – the country’s flagship nutrient assistance scheme, serving 1 successful 8 Americans each period – was acceptable to frost connected November 1, aft the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said connected October 10 that it would not beryllium capable to money the programme if the shutdown continued.
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On Friday, national judges successful the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island doled retired abstracted but akin rulings that told the national authorities to screen the benefits by drafting from contingency funds.
SNAP, known colloquially arsenic nutrient stamps, costs much than $8bn to deploy monthly and covers astir $190 oregon $356 successful groceries per household. The benefits are typically loaded onto debit cards.
In a filing connected Monday to the Rhode Island court, the USDA agreed to “fulfill its work to expend the afloat magnitude of SNAP contingency funds today”.
The medication volition usage up a money totalling astir $5bn, but not different funds that would let it to afloat money SNAP, the filing said.
Because the process of loading the cards tin instrumentality up to 2 weeks, it’s not yet wide erstwhile beneficiaries whitethorn statesman to person funds again – nor however overmuch wealth volition yet beryllium included.
The judges had fixed the Trump medication until Monday to code however it could partially money SNAP, with US District Judge Indira Talwani successful Boston ruling a suspension of the programme was “unlawful” and “erroneous”.
“This tribunal has present clarified that Defendants are required to usage those Contingency Funds arsenic indispensable for the SNAP program,” she added.
In Rhode Island, US District Judge John McConnell reached a akin decision and asked the medication for an update connected Monday, saying successful a virtual proceeding that “it is beyond statement that irreparable harm volition statesman to occur” if SNAP is paused.
The rulings came successful effect to abstracted challenges to the Trump administration’s suspension of benefits.
Trump had initially claimed connected his Truth Social level connected Friday that the judges’ decisions were “conflicting”, and helium utilized the imaginable nonaccomplishment of SNAP to instrumentality a changeable astatine “Radical Democrats”.
Right-wing disinformation astir nutrient stamps has meantime surfaced online successful caller days, with one viral illustration claiming that “Afghan”, “Somali” and “Iraqi” radical were the biggest beneficiaries of SNAP.
In fact, USDA information amusement that achromatic radical usage SNAP the most, accounting for much than 35 percent of beneficiaries.
English (US) ·