Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), benefits were halted Nov. 1 because of the government shutdown. Now they will be reinstated due to the passage of a joint package advanced by a small group of Senate Democrats in Congress who joined with Republicans late Nov. 12 to end the longest government shutdown in history. SNAP benefits are being reinstated, and benefits are said to be delivered in their entirety in the next few days.
As it stood, the shutdown would have affected millions of Americans without the crucial benefits they use to buy food. SNAP is a program funded by the United States government and managed by the states. After both parties failed to agree on a new budget for the U.S. fiscal year, the government shut down on Oct. 1, and many government programs were halted. SNAP is one of those programs.
There are over 41 million people in the United States who receive SNAP, with 3.5 million SNAP beneficiaries in Texas alone.
This has caused an uproar across the United States, as the people on SNAP depend on these funds to buy everyday food items that they could not typically afford. There have been lawsuits across the country demanding that SNAP benefits must continue being paid.
Due to the inability to agree on a new budget prior to Nov. 12, essential government employees were working without pay and many of the government-funded programs were paused or stopped due to the lack of funding.
At issue are tax breaks for billionaires, supported by Republicans, and an extension of the Affordable Healthcare Act subsidies, supported by Democrats. This has resulted in one side blaming the other for the shutdown.
In a joint statement made by Democratic leaders Hakeem Jeffries, Katherine Clark and Pete Aguilar taken from Jeffries’ website, they said,
“Forty-three days ago, Donald Trump and MAGA extremists shut down the government because they did not want to provide affordable healthcare to working class Americans. During the Republican shutdown, the Trump administration and GOP enablers have visited tremendous pain on the American people, including hardworking federal employees, law enforcement personnel, air traffic controllers, SNAP recipients and more—all because Republicans have no interest in stopping healthcare costs from skyrocketing.”
Texas Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) offered these comments posted on his website.
“Senate Democrats have voted against funding SNAP and reopening the government more than a dozen times already, forcing vulnerable Texans to go hungry as the holidays are fast approaching,” said Cornyn. “Democrats’ callous apathy towards Texans is sickening, and this legislation would ensure our most vulnerable mothers, children, and families across the Lone Star State have the assistance they desperately need during this senseless shutdown.”
Some states decided to take their own hands. On Nov. 6, Rhode Island Judge John Mcmatters regarding SNAP into Connell issued an order calling for SNAP to continue being fully funded using emergency funds. There was an attempt to appeal the ruling coming from the White House.
Despite this, seven states fully issued November SNAP payments during the shutdown. These states are Alaska, California, Illinois, Louisiana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Wisconsin.
As a response, the United Stated Department of Agriculture (USDA) ordered that all states who sent full payments need to “immediately undo” the distributions and were told that failure to do so could potentially affect future federal funding.
The statement on the USDA website made by Patrick A. Penn, deputy undersecretary for food nutrition and consumer services in the United States Department of Agriculture, said “To the extent States sent full SNAP payment files for November 2025, this was unauthorized. Accordingly, States must immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025. Please advise the appropriate FNS Regional Office representative of steps taken to correct any actions taken that do not comply with this memorandum.”
The USDA threatened various actions, including “cancellation of the federal share of state administrative costs and holding states liable for any over issuances that result from the noncompliance.” A reduction in benefits would be bad news for people and families who rely on SNAP to afford groceries on a weekly basis.
As a result of the shutdown, there was an uptick in people using food pantries and other food resources across the United States. The community came together to support those in need, with many restaurants holding deals for SNAP beneficiaries, such as allowing children to eat free or issuing one free meal item, before the government reopened. Food delivery services such as DoorDash had also enacted deals, such as waived delivery fees for SNAP users.
Despite SNAP being reinstated, this shutdown has proven that millions of people rely on food assistance to survive. At North Lake, the food pantry is in A262 and is open M-F from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekdays and open to the community on Fridays. The pantry allows for weekly grocery shopping, as well as a daily snack allowance. In addition, there are also drive through pantry days throughout the semester. The next one will be at Brookhaven Campus on Dec. 9, starting at 10 am. The food pantry is stocked by the North Texas Food Bank.
