The month of November brought about many significant updates to the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP). The month began with delays to funding being procured by those in the program due to the government shutdown and actions in the Supreme Court. Following this, it was announced that SNAP allotment was to be reduced for the month. Changes were also made to eligibility requirements for applying to the program, and the government has continued to take action to reduce fraud in the program.
SNAP, which was previously called the Food Stamp Program, dates back to 1939 and was made permanent in 1964 following the passing of the Food Stamp Act. Since then, the program has grown greatly, and as of 2024, it has approximately 41.7 million participants per month.
Because of the government shutdown, growing concerns were raised in October about how SNAP benefits would be affected by the shutdown should it continue into November. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget noted that “though funding for the SNAP program is mandatory, the ability to send out ‘food stamp’ benefits could be affected by a shutdown, since continuing resolutions have generally only authorized the Agriculture Department (USDA) to send out benefits for 30 days after a shutdown begins.” States notified participants in October that delays to benefits were very likely, and when the continuing resolution to temporarily reopen the government was passed, delays still occurred as benefits had to be loaded on Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards, which took several days. Benefit reduction guidelines changed throughout the month as the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) revised its original guidance, stating that SNAP benefit allotments were to be reduced by 35% instead of the original 50%. Shortly after the government shutdown ended, states were instructed to take steps for households to receive full November allotments promptly.
During this early part of November, before the government shutdown ended, the Supreme Court heard an order, Rollins v. Rhode Island State Council of Churches, where the Trump Administration, through Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, requested a stay in regards to fully funding SNAP benefits for November. The stay was granted on November 7, temporarily blocking a lower court’s orders to use contingency funds to pay out SNAP benefits. Following the government shutdown’s end, the request was withdrawn by the Trump Administration as the continuing resolution fully funds SNAP through the end of the year, making the underlying dispute moot.
While the start of November brought all this, it also coincided with several major legislative changes that affect SNAP eligibility due to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWD) work rules, which for those who fall into their classification must meet certain requirements to continue to receive SNAP benefits, were updated to become stricter by expanding out to others in the program who had previously had exemptions from ABAWD work rules. The requirements were extended out to include those in the age range of 18-64 from the previous age range of 18-55, and previously, those caring for a child under the age of 18 were exempt, but now only those caring for a child below the age of 14 are exempt. Temporary exemptions were also removed for veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and youth aging out of foster care.
Fraud in SNAP is also continuously trying to be cracked down on. In a November 21st post on X, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced findings from information collected from states who complied in giving their data regarding SNAP. In this, she stated that from those states, there were 186,000 dead people receiving benefits and 356,000 duplicate enrollments. Rollins noted that “millions of Americans rely on SNAP and we’re making sure every dollar goes to the families who truly need it.”
