The ongoing federal government shutdown is placing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in a precarious position. As the shutdown stretches into its third week, uncertainty looms over whether approximately 42 million Americans will receive their November 2025 SNAP benefits.
SNAP is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food & Nutrition Service (FNS). SNAP benefits, which are entirely funded by federal appropriations, are distributed by state agencies. Under normal circumstances, states receive funding allocations early enough to issue monthly Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) payments to SNAP beneficiaries. However, due to the lapse in congressional appropriations caused by the shutdown, USDA has exhausted appropriated funds. While USDA plans to rely on limited contingency reserves to pay for November SNAP benefits, the Department lacks sufficient reserves to cover the $8 billion needed to pay full November benefits. As a result, if the federal shutdown continues beyond late October, millions may not receive their SNAP benefits starting on November 1.
The effects will soon be felt across the country. State agencies in Texas, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and West Virginia have issued warnings that their SNAP budgets could deplete within days if the federal closure persists. Some states are considering diverting limited reserve funds to temporarily bridge SNAP disbursements, but officials warn such stopgap measures would not be reimbursed once federal operations resume.
The impacts on SNAP beneficiaries cannot be overstated. More than one in eight Americans depend on SNAP benefits. For households living paycheck to paycheck, even a short interruption can have serious implications. SNAP households, especially those with children, elderly adults, and/or individuals with disabilities, face the likelihood of empty pantries. Community food banks and non-profit organizations have already reported surging demand as families brace for possible benefit suspensions. To make matters even worse, food insecurity tends to spike during the holiday season, compounding the emotional and financial strain on low-income families.
Political polarization is the driving force behind the dysfunction in Congress that has resulted in the current federal government shutdown. While blame can likely be attributed to Republican and Democratic leaders, the USDA’s website attributes the closure to “the Radical Left Democrat shutdown.” And while the Senate has the power to end the shutdown tomorrow, either through compromise or by Republicans exercising the “nuclear option,” that doesn’t appear likely until average Americans start to feel financial impacts. That will likely take place on November 1, 2025, when approximately 24 million Americans receive notice of 2026 Affordable Care Act premiums. Moreover, economists warn that a prolonged halt could ripple through local economies. SNAP benefits inject billions of dollars into supermarkets, convenience stores, and other retailers each month, supporting not just food security but also rural agricultural sectors and small-town grocers who depend on the steady cash flow that SNAP benefits provide.
What is clear is that without an immediate resolution to the budgetary impasse, the loss of SNAP benefits will intensify hunger, economic instability, and public distrust in government institutions designed to provide safety and stability in times of crisis. For now, millions of Americans anxiously await clarity — and their next meal — as the shutdown’s ripple effects deepen across communities nationwide.
OFW Principal Stewart Fried provides regulatory advice to and represents retailers across the United States on SNAP and WIC issues before FNS and the federal courts.