Many families struggle as food stamp benefits remain unclear

Even as the Trump administration has agreed to provide partial food stamp payments for November, food banks and food pantries are busier than usual in what’s usually a busy month. And no one is sure how soon those partial payments will arrive, though the undersecretary of the Department of Agriculture said in a court filing that in some cases, it could be weeks or months.

The bottom line for thousands of families, including the 1 in 20 in Utah who rely on food stamps for at least part of their food, is uncertainty about the future and no benefits at the moment.

Per the New York Times, “The government revealed its plans in a set of filings on Monday in federal court, just days after a judge found fault in the government’s attempt to stop funding those benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP.”

But the government didn’t agree to tap anything but a single related contingency fund during the government shutdown, now approaching its sixth week, so it’s expected the 42 million Americans that benefit from the program will get about half of their household benefits. Future payments are unclear.

Food banks are reporting that in many communities they’re receiving extra help, but they’re also seeing many more requests for help.

“We are receiving more support and more demand,” said Glenn Bailey, longtime executive director of Crossroads Urban Center in Salt Lake City. “This morning was the longest line at the door of the downtown pantry that I’ve ever seen.”

Crossroads does other things besides food and Bailey said it was also stopping utility cutoffs by offering help, “but that money will likely be gone for November by noon.”

While the staff and those asking for help waited for a Utah Food Bank truck to arrive at the center Monday, he said many were talking about stocking up on staples, worried they would fall short of food if there are no benefits this month.

“We’ll do the best we can, but nonprofit charity can only go so far,” he said.

But amid all the need, Bailey reported a surge of help, as well.

“A lot of people want to help, too,” he said. “We’ve been getting more online donations, food donations and offers to volunteer than I would expect this time of year.”

When will partial SNAP benefits arrive?

It’s not clear when those receiving SNAP benefits can expect even partial relief. The Trump administration earlier told the court that providing benefits on a partial basis during the shutdown could take some extra time.

Patrick Penn, deputy under secretary of Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services in the Department of Agriculture, in a declaration in federal court in Rhode Island — one of two that ordered at least some SNAP benefits be restored — said that he oversees SNAP and wrote that the government would “deplete SNAP contingency funds completely to provide reduced SNAP benefits this month.”

He referred to funding choices that might be considered amid the shutdown as a “no-win quandary.”

After the Trump administration declined to rescue benefits by tapping into reserves to keep the program going in the shutdown, many lawsuits were filed, including by cities, states, religious groups and nonprofits, per the Times.

One federal judge, John J. McConnell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, set Monday as the deadline to provide benefits and Wednesday as the deadline for partial benefits. A federal judge in Massachusetts also ordered that benefits be released and the government to announce its intent, placing a Monday deadline.

Trump on social media said benefits would “unfortunately be delayed while states get the money out.”

The Associated Press reported that the administration “said it would provide details to states on Monday on calculating the per-household partial benefit. The process of loading the SNAP cards, which involves steps by state and federal government agencies and vendors, can take up to two weeks in some states. But the USDA warned in a court filing that it could take weeks or even months for states to make all the system changes to send out reduced benefits. The average monthly benefit is usually about $190 per person.”

Penn noted states are still obligated to accept applications and determine eligibility, same as always. “States also must incur necessary expenses to recalculate and distribute benefits,” he wrote, adding some money from the fund would be provided for that type of administrative cost, leaving $4.65 billion to cover SNAP at the reduced rate, since full coverage costs about $8 billion a month.

“This means that no funds will remain for new SNAP applicants certified in November, disaster assistance or as a cushion against the potential catastrophic consequences of shutting down SNAP entirely,” he wrote.

The administration considered taking money from the Child Nutrition Program, but decided it could not. Taking $4 billion would create a gap in that program that would not be filled until the next infusion of money in fiscal year 2027, he said. And transferring the money from the Child Nutrition Program would “further stray from congressional intent.”

Penn added that “for at least some states, USDA’s understanding is that the system changes states must implement to provide the reduced benefit amounts will take anywhere from a few weeks to up to several months.”

The Associated Press reported 28 states so far have increased funds to their local food bank, including Utah.

The view from food banks

Utah reportedly has the second-lowest share of residents who use SNAP benefits, at about 5% of households. That’s an estimated 177,000 individuals in 86,000 households.

The average per capita value of benefits in Utah is $192.17, according to a study by Smartasset.com. New Mexico has the highest share, per the report, at 21.5% of its population using SNAP benefits.

A lower benefit means individuals will have benefits equal to less than $100 for the month’s food.

To qualify for SNAP in 2025, a household’s net income after certain expenses can’t exceed the federal poverty line. For a family of four, that’s about $32,000 per year.

Ginette Bott, executive director of the Utah Food Bank, which not only directly provides food but provides food for distribution to many local pantries statewide, said she was told there’s a line at the Hurricane food pantry in southern Utah, which is unusual. “We are seeing increased attendance at our mobile pantries,” she said.

Even if partial funding for SNAP is made available, she worries that people are forgetting the time it’s going to take to make that work and get food on the shelves of the programs that furnish it to people. “I think the delay in the time it takes will cause people to have a difficult, really difficult month of November,” she said.

Still, Bott said operating a food bank in Utah is an incredible blessing, because “Utah has this great giving culture. When we put out a call for help, people rally.”

She said dozens and dozens of people said they would organize food drives. The Utahfoodbank.org volunteer page at the moment is temporarily full. And monetary donations have been “incredible. The governor’s office last week stepped up with the opportunity to work with us on purchasing food that would be up to $4 million or a weekly distribution of funds until the government reopens. That is something we would not have had access to had this situation not been so dire.”

Sitting in her office at the Utah Food Bank, Bott said she can look out the window and see people driving up to the drop-off dock on the east side of the building to donate food. She hopes they will keep coming.

“Food, time and money are the three things we asked for and all three of those have been recognized,” Bott said. But it doesn’t mean the need has been met and folks can just move on, she added.

The food bank can order food and often receive a discount. But it’s not like it can just order and go pick it up. Sometimes an order is filled in two days, but it could be two weeks, depending on the order and the source.

“We have a time frame that we have to work on to be sure that we’re placing those orders in a timely fashion so we don’t have a lag or that we don’t run out.”

When food arrives, it has to be unloaded, put in the inventory and readied for distribution.

“A lot of hands touch that can of green beans before it heads off to the pantry. There’s a lot of work — and time — people don’t take into consideration.

She said that in this crisis moment, food bank staff are “working as fast as we can to get ahead of the requests.”

Bott said since November and December are always tough for families who need food assistance and the food bank is really busy during those months, the extra efforts are great. But people need to continue to pay attention because the food bank could easily find itself needing extra help again very soon, which worries her.

“It’s got to be a continuous scenario, that we can be sure that we’re able to meet the need. I can’t imagine how bad it would be if you didn’t have your SNAP benefits, and you went to a pantry and the shelves were empty,” Bott said. “It’s the worst-case scenario of all time. So we’ve got to be sure that doesn’t happen.”