The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides federal funds to purchase groceries for approximately 42 million low-income and no-income Americans.
As the government shutdown enters its second month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture wrote on its website that “wells are dry” and benefits will not be distributed on November 1. This is the first time SNAP funding has stopped since the program began in 1964.
But on November 3, the Trump administration announced through a court filing that it would allocate funds to cover “50% of eligible households’ current allocations” for partial payments to SNAP participants. Two federal judges have ruled that the Department of Agriculture must pay for food stamps during the government shutdown.
More than 20 states have filed suit against the Department of Agriculture in an attempt to force the Trump administration to fund SNAP benefits amid the government shutdown.
Some states, such as Louisiana, New Mexico, Vermont, and Rhode Island, have adopted state-funded approaches to temporarily cover part or all of SNAP benefits.
How many people will be affected?
The suspension of food stamp payments will affect approximately 12% of Americans. A 2025 USDA study found that SNAP participants used the program for more than half of their monthly food expenses.
Who uses SNAP?
The majority of households participating in SNAP include children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. In 2023, 83% of SNAP participants fell into one of these three categories.
Black, Hispanic, and Native American households are also more likely to use SNAP. According to a Washington Post analysis, 12 out of 50 Black households rely on SNAP, as do 11 out of 50 Native American households and 9 out of 50 Hispanic households.
How long has SNAP been around?
Government-funded financial food assistance began in the United States in 1939 with the Food Stamp Program, created in the aftermath of the Great Depression.
It originally lasted only four years, but was permanently reinstated by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 with the Food Stamp Act.
Participation in the program declined in the late 1990s, but skyrocketed during the 2008 recession with 28.2 million people enrolled in the food stamp program.
That same year, the program was renamed SNAP, and over the next five years, participants steadily increased, reaching an all-time high of 47.6 million in 2013. Participation declined in the late 2010s until the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
SOURCES USA TODAY Network Reports and Investigations. United States Department of Agriculture. Food and Nutrition Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau
