Some 42 million Americans who rely on federal food benefits have become the latest political flash point of the government shutdown as November approaches and funding runs out for the nationwide program.
People in the U.S. who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program (SNAP) — more commonly called “food stamps” in the past — will be those impacted, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) warned in a memo to state agency directors.
The memo, obtained by several news outlets, begins:
As stated in our lapse of appropriation correspondence dated October 1, 2025, SNAP has funding available for benefits and operations through the month of October. However, if the current lapse in appropriations continues, there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits for approximately 42 million individuals across the Nation.
More than two dozen states have warned residents of possible lapses in funding, according to a report by Fox News Digital.
Rev. Eugene Cho, president and CEO of Bread for the World, a nonprofit hunger advocacy group, told Fox Digital the food program “requires about $8 billion each month to fund SNAP benefits nationwide. When there’s no funding it impacts not just pockets of people, but it’s going to impact people all around the country.”
Some states will feel the loss of government funding more than others, he said, depending how they administer their program.
On Thursday, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) declared a state of emergency over the SNAP benefits, saying it will impact 850,000 residents in the commonwealth.
If the shutdown continues, also at risk is the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition program. It aids nearly 7 million vulnerable pregnant women and children under age 5.
The Trump administration blames Democrats for putting at risk food programs that have historically been among their favorite programs to fund.
“We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats,” a USDA spokesman told Fox News Digital. “Continue to hold out for healthcare for illegals or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive timely WIC and SNAP allotments.”
As Breitbart News reported, Democrats are trying to pin the looming loss of benefits on President Donald Trump, with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) taking to social media this week, claiming the administration has “billions” to pay for the program but is withholding it.
Booker apparently is citing a contingency fund that could be used to partially pay for November SNAP support, though it would not cover the entire month of November.
If the federal government reopens, November benefits could be issued as normal. Also, this week Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced a bill that would provide emergency SNAP funding, though the earliest it could be voted on would be next week.
Meanwhile, the standoff for adopting a continuing resolution to fund the government goes on in the Senate where it has already failed 12 times.
Democrats are demanding that any spending bill must repeal Medicaid cuts made earlier this year and provide an extension of enhanced Obamacare subsidies set to expire at the end of 2025.
As for the SNAP program, a contingency fund has some $5 billion available in a reserve, but that falls short of the $8 billion needed to fully fund the SNAP payments to the states.
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is a veteran journalist and the author of the New York Times best seller House of Secrets and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
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