An USDA official stated that the Food and Nutrition Service will obligate $450 million from the contingency fund for SAE for November, as well as an additional $150 million for NAP in Puerto Rico and American Samoa.
- A federal judge in Rhode Island issued an order blocking the Trump administration from halting payments for SNAP benefits during the federal government shutdown.
- A USDA official noted that at the beginning of fiscal year 2026, the Food and Nutrition Service had $6 billion in SNAP contingency funds.
- The USDA official stated that the Food and Nutrition Service will obligate $450 million from the contingency fund for SAE for November, as well as an additional $150 million for NAP in Puerto Rico and American Samoa.The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in a filing on Monday that it would deplete remaining Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) contingency funds and provide reduced SNAP benefits for November 2025.
A USDA official stated that the Food and Nutrition Service will obligate $450 million from the contingency fund for State Administrative Expense (SAE) for November, as well as an additional $150 million for NAP in Puerto Rico and American Samoa.
“The above will leave a total of $4.65 billion in the contingency fund for November SNAP benefits that will all be obligated to cover 50% of eligible households’ current allotments,” the filing read.
Lawsuit Against Trump Administration
A federal judge in Rhode Island on Friday issued an order blocking the Trump administration from halting payments for SNAP benefits during a U.S. federal government shutdown.
This is on the heels of the Trump administration being sued by governors and attorneys general from 25 states in the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts for “illegally” suspending SNAP benefits during the ongoing federal government shutdown.
“Suspending SNAP benefits in these circumstances is both contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act,” the states said in the lawsuit.
What Did The Filing Say?
The USDA official noted that at the beginning of fiscal year 2026, the Food and Nutrition Service had $6 billion in SNAP contingency funds. In October 2025, the Food and Nutrition Service used $450 million from the contingency fund for SNAP SAE and an additional $300 million for the NAP block grants for Puerto Rico and American Samoa.
“This means that no funds will remain for new SNAP applicants certified in November, disaster assistance, or as a cushion against the potential catastrophic consequences of shutting down SNAP entirely,” the official said in a filing.
SNAP benefits aid a significant number of Americans and help with basic grocery and daily essential purchases. Analysts have noted that a block of SNAP benefits can result in a slowdown in demand at retailers such as Walmart and Target, among others, as these companies are authorized to accept SNAP benefits.
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