Prodded by a federal judge in Rhode Island, the Trump Administration said Monday it would use contingency funding to restart November payments for SNAP food aid. But it was only a partial victory for the group of Rhode Island nonprofits and cities whose lawsuit prompted the funding.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which runs the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, said it would only pay out about half of what people typically receive.
The administration says it will use money from an Agriculture Department contingency fund, but the $5 billion in that fund falls well short of the full cost of SNAP benefits nationwide. And although Rhode Island District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. stated in a Saturday ruling that the Trump Administration could also tap other sources of funding to make up the gap, the administration stated in court filings that it does not plan to do so.
That means people in Rhode Island and Massachusetts — as well as people around the country — who rely on SNAP benefits can’t expect to receive their full allotment.
“That contingency fund alone will not cover even all of November,” Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said at a press conference on Monday. “They’re choosing to give millions of families partial benefits instead of full benefits, even though they have the money and the legal authority to pay every eligible household in full.”
Even after the Trump administration’s response to the court, it remains unclear when people will actually receive SNAP funding. The Rhode Island Department of Human Services stated on Monday that it requires additional information from the federal government before it can distribute funds.
The City of Central Falls was one of the plaintiffs in the Rhode Island case. Mayor Maria Rivera said she would continue to seek ways to support those in need of food.
“We’re not going to stop advocating for what our families need and deserve,” Rivera said. “Our city has had to step up to fill this massive gap for our families, working to organize pop-up food resource events, expand food pantry offerings and hours, and more emergency planning to make sure our residents don’t go hungry. We will keep doing what it takes to support our community.”
The fight over SNAP funding is not over. With the federal government shut down, regular funding for SNAP benefits is exhausted. And the Trump administration warned in its court filing that depleting the emergency fund means “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.”
Ocean State Media’s Isabella Jibilian contributed to this story.
