The government shutdown is officially over: When will SNAP payments resume?
With the U.S.’s record-breaking shutdown now at an end, funding is due to return to the SNAP food-stamps program.
With government to reopen after the United States’ historic federal shutdown came to an end, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is set to return to full operation.
Experts say the speed with which the nationwide food-stamps scheme resumes may well vary from state to state.
More than month-long shutdown ends
Late on Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed into law a government funding bill that brings to a close a shutdown that lasted for a record 43 days.
Having already been approved by the Senate on Monday, the legislation passed Congress when it was greenlit by the House of Representatives earlier on Wednesday.
SNAP shutdown saga
The new spending package - which passed the House in a 222-206 vote - pledges to provide SNAP recipients with their November benefits in full.
Many Americans have not received this month’s SNAP money, or have been paid only partial benefits, after the shutdown led to a November lapse in funding for the federally-financed program.
Although a federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the Trump administration on November 6 to fund this month’s SNAP benefits in their entirety, the Supreme Court granted the government a stay on this ruling the following day.
On November 8, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which runs SNAP, capped states’ permitted distribution of benefits at 65% of recipients’ usual allotment. On November 11, the Supreme Court then extended until Thursday the stay it had previously granted, amid signs the shutdown was about to end.
Immediately after the Rhode Island ruling, some states issued full benefits during the short window before the Supreme Court stay.
According to a tally by the Associated Press, at least 19 states and the District of Columbia have sent out full November benefits to at least some of their SNAP beneficiaries.
Eleven states appear not to have sent out any SNAP payments for this month, per AP’s count, with the remainder issuing no more than partial November benefits.
So when will full SNAP benefits resume?
On Wednesday, the USDA said in a statement to media outlets that payments to beneficiaries in most states would begin going out within 24 hours of the end of the shutdown.
Crystal FitzSimons, the president of the nutrition-advocacy group the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), has told USA Today that SNAP recipients may have to wait a few days or a week.
Meanwhile, Carolyn Vega of Share Our Strength, a non-profit that works to combat poverty and hunger, told AP that the states likeliest to take the longest to issue full benefits are those that have already sent out partial payments.
According to Vega, this is because of the potential technical challenges that come with distributing the remaining amounts.
“Millions of Americans hungry and in limbo”
In a statement released after the end of the shutdown, the FRAC called on the USDA to work with states to “quickly deliver benefits and alleviate the harm”.
“It remains shocking that the administration did everything it could during the shutdown to keep much needed food assistance from reaching those in need,” the FRAC said. “USDA could have, and should have, acted decisively to ensure that SNAP benefits continued uninterrupted.
“Instead, the administration went as far as the Supreme Court - to keep SNAP benefits out of the hands of those in need. This unnecessary and harmful decision left millions of Americans hungry and in limbo.”
This shutdown showed how essential SNAP is for the 42 million people who rely on it to put food on the table. People cannot go without benefits, and states cannot carry the weight of higher costs and administrative burdens. https://t.co/sHidoXKGRz pic.twitter.com/SE71i4kXz6
— Food Research & Action Center (@fractweets) November 13, 2025
How many people get SNAP benefits?
SNAP is a program that benefits a monthly average of around 42 million people in the U.S., per statistics published by the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service. The scheme is worth an average of $187.20 per person per month, the agency says.
Although SNAP is federally funded, each state is responsible for distributing benefits to its residents. SNAP money is paid onto what’s known as an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card - a special debit card that recipients can use at participating grocery stores.
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