SNAP food aid gets to people in some states while others remain in limbo amid court battles

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People in some U.S. states are able to buy groceries with federally funded SNAP benefits this weekend while those elsewhere are still waiting for November food benefits delayed by a protracted legal battle over the federal government shutdown.

The Trump administration initially said last month that it would not fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for November because of the U.S. government shutdown. The twists and turns since have exacerbated uncertainty for the nearly 1 in 8 Americans who receive monthly SNAP benefits to spend at grocery stores and farmer’s markets.

On Friday, some states began issuing full monthly SNAP benefits to people, a day after a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to provide the funds.

But Friday night, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson temporarily paused that judicial order to give an appeals court in Boston time to decide whether to issue a more lasting halt. Jackson acted because she handles emergency matters from Massachusetts.

The high court's order didn't stop payment distribution in at least some states, but millions of other Americans who depend on SNAP remain in limbo.

Nearly 42 million Americans receive SNAP benefits, formerly known as food stamps, for help buying groceries. Most have incomes below the poverty line, which is about $32,000 for a family of four.

An individual can receive a monthly maximum food benefit of nearly $300 and a family of four up to nearly $1,000, although many receive less than that under a formula that takes into consideration their income.

The delay in payments has led to a surge in demand at food banks and pantries across the country, as well as long lines for free meals or drive-thru giveaways.

Some states have provided emergency funding to food banks to help them respond to the increased need. Some states also used their own dollars to fund direct payments to people while the federal benefits were in limbo.

North Carolina's Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai acknowledged that more than 190,000 households there received just $16 or less, after the state paused the full payment of benefits following the Supreme Court's order.

Whether SNAP beneficiaries are seeing money on their electronic benefits transfer cards depends on where they live.

In Hawaii, Oregon and Wisconsin, officials worked quickly after a judge ordered full benefit payments Thursday to instruct their EBT providers to process the full payments.

“We moved with haste once we verified everything,” Joseph Campos II, deputy director of Hawaii’s Department of Human Services, told The Associated Press.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, a Democrat, said state employees “worked through the night” to issue full November benefits.

Officials in California, Kansas, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Washington also confirmed that some SNAP recipients were issued their full November payments on Friday.

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, said more than 250,000 households that missed their regular monthly SNAP payment during the first week of November received their full amount on Friday. The remaining beneficiaries would receive their November funds on their regularly scheduled dates later this month — if distribution does not remain blocked by legal challenges.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, said that state's SNAP recipients had received full November benefits as of Saturday afternoon, while Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, also a Democrat, said half a million recipients in her state got their benefits after a previously scheduled payment went out Saturday morning. A half a million more residents there are supposed to get their benefits next week.

Officials in Colorado said Saturday that about 32,000 recipients had received their full monthly benefits before the Supreme Court's order came down. More than 560,000 additional recipients were still waiting.

In Rhode Island, about 79,000 households received their full benefits, Gov. Dan McKee, a Democrat said, adding that his team is “working through the weekend" to help address what he called “a crisis for families.”

The Trump administration said in a legal filing with the Supreme Court that “there is no ready mechanism for the government to recover those funds” that already have been distributed.

Before Jackson ordered a pause, New York had said access to full SNAP benefits should begin by Sunday. New Hampshire had said full benefits should be available over the weekend.

Arizona and Minnesota also said that full SNAP benefits would be accessible in the coming days.

Whether all the people expecting to receive those benefits on their EBT cards will find them there remains unclear.

For people in some other states, the wait appears likely to extend into next week. Numerous state officials said they had been waiting for further guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers SNAP.

Because of the federal government shutdown, the Trump administration originally had said SNAP benefits would not be available in November. After two judges ruled the administration could not skip November’s benefits entirely, the administration said it would use an emergency reserve fund containing more than $4.6 billion to provide partial benefits in November.

A judge on Thursday said that wasn’t good enough, and ordered other funds to be used to make the full monthly payment. The Trump administration appealed, asking a higher court to suspend any orders that require it to spend more money than is available in the contingency fund. That is what led to Jackson's temporary hold issued late Friday.

Associated Press reporters from across the U.S. contributed to this report.