Texans will receive partial November SNAP benefits after the Trump administration said Monday that it will release some funds for the food aid program, following two federal rulings that required it to keep the program running.
Benefits will be released on a staggered basis, starting with those who were first to miss their payments and continuing until the Texas Health and Human Services Commission catches up to its normal schedule, said Wesley Story of Feeding Texas, the state association of food banks.
About 248,000 Texas households were supposed to get SNAP benefits at the start of the month but have not received them, according to a spokesperson from Propel, an app that helps SNAP enrollees manage their benefits. All SNAP enrollees, including 3.5 million Texans, 1.7 million of whom are children, are expected to receive only partial November payments. Payments will be about 50 percent on average based on how many people are in the household and on income.
The Trump administration said Monday it would use $4.65 billion from an emergency account to cover about half the month’s benefits. It said it would give details to states on Monday for calculating how much each household will get.
After the U.S. Department of Agriculture issues guidance to states, it will take at least three days for payments to hit Lone Star Cards that participants use to purchase food at grocery retailers.
“Even when contingency funds are released, they will only provide partial relief,” Feeding Texas CEO Celia Cole said. “Food banks across Texas are already seeing a surge in demand — and we expect that to grow significantly as families face delayed or reduced SNAP benefits.”
November benefits were paused Saturday and have already affected more than 4.7 million Americans.
Two federal judges ruled Friday that the Trump administration must tap existing funds to keep the SNAP food assistance program running during the government shutdown, according to reporting from the Associated Press.
The rulings came as Gov. Greg Abbott faced mounting pressure to authorize emergency funding for Texas SNAP recipients. Abbott said U.S. Senate Democrats should pass legislation to end the government shutdown. Democrats have voted against the new budget 13 times over Republicans’ refusal to negotiate extending Affordable Care Act subsidies, which are set to expire at year’s end.
Exhausting the fund potentially sets the stage for a similar situation in December if the shutdown isn’t resolved by then.
“Ongoing lawsuits are not a swift solution to this crisis. If contingency funds are released, they represent only partial relief — and the administration has indicated it could take weeks to calculate and distribute them,” Cole said in a Friday statement.
Every day that the money is delayed affects around 126,000 Texans, Cole previously told The Texas Tribune.
The USDA had announced that it would halt the program, which serves more than 42 million Americans, in November due to insufficient funding during the shutdown.
Texas HHSC spokesperson James Rivera said Monday the agency is awaiting guidance from the Agriculture Department’s food and nutrition service, which oversees SNAP, and Texans can find more information on its website and FAQs.
The ruling came in response to a challenge from state attorneys general or governors in 25 states plus the District of Columbia, who said the administration was legally obliged to keep SNAP running.
A prior USDA plan for a government shutdown says SNAP should keep running during a pause in appropriations.
“Congressional intent is evident that SNAP’s operations should continue since the program has been provided with multi-year contingency funds,” said the plan, which was subsequently removed from the USDA website.
That emergency fund totals $5.3 billion, but SNAP needs $8.2 billion for full funding in November. The Trump administration has doubled down that it cannot use this money for SNAP.
In their suit, the Democratic states argued that the administration must tap this fund, and that it also has access to a separate pool with around $23 billion. Both judges ordered the Trump administration to fund SNAP at least partially, and left it to decide whether to use additional resources to pay for full November benefits.
“Following public outcry and intervention from the courts, Trump is being forced to do a little to stop the hunger crisis he tried to create,” said Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, in a statement Monday. “He used his full authority to help farmers, but refuses to do the same for families. They only receive half a loaf of help.”
Geoff Mulvihill and Kimberlee Kruesi of the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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