The status of November Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits remains uncertain after the Supreme Court granted an emergency request to pause court rulings that would have required immediate disbursal of contingency funds.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the program, announced in October that November benefits would not be distributed due to the ongoing government shutdown, which is now the longest in history.
The Trump administration appealed two court orders to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which denied its request for an emergency stay but said it would work quickly to decide whether a longer-term stay was necessary. Hours later, in a 9:57 p.m. order, Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson granted an administrative stay pending the 1st Circuit’s decision.
The appeal is based on decisions from federal judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, who ruled that the Trump administration must tap into emergency funds to provide SNAP benefits. Thursday, Judge John J. McConnell Jr., of the U.S. District of Rhode Island, set a Friday deadline to release emergency funds. In the District of Massachusetts, Judge Indira Talwani ruled Oct. 31 that the USDA was responsible for funding at least some of the SNAP program in November using emergency funds.
In a memo sent late Saturday night, the USDA instructed states to “immediately undo” any work toward providing food stamps or face financial penalties, according to reports from The New York Times. On Friday, prior to the stay, the department had circulated a memo that it intended to “complete the processes necessary” to release the funds “later today,” according to reports from POLITICO, which obtained a copy of the memo.
Gov. Maura Healey stated Friday afternoon that Massachusetts would begin providing SNAP benefits as early as Saturday. The state has not made any new announcements in light of the Supreme Court’s order or the USDA’s Saturday memo. A spokesperson for the Governor’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
UMass Boston has resources available to food-insecure students. The Urban and Off-Campus Support Services office offers SNAP assistance, a food pantry, and grab-and-go meal and snack programs. Students who are enrolled in at least one credit at UMass Boston are able to utilize these services by visiting the office or applying online.
“A lot of our student population is coming from public schools where they’ve had access to free breakfast, lunch, and sometimes even dinner programs,” said Cara Cogliano, the director of U-ACCESS. “They come to university, and they don’t have any of that — and their financial situations, either independently and/or within their families, has not changed. The food in the food pantry requires a kitchen and preparing food, and then grab-and-go will meet your hunger needs for the day.”
Pausing the program affects one in eight Americans and more than one million Massachusetts residents.
“Ending SNAP will dramatically increase pressure on local food banks, community organizations, and charitable partners — potentially quadrupling demand on already overburdened systems and deepening food insecurity across Massachusetts,” the Boston City Council stated Nov. 3.
President Donald Trump blamed Democrats for the shutdown. “I do NOT want Americans to go hungry just because the Radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT,” Trump posted on Truth Social Oct. 31. “Therefore, I have instructed our lawyers to ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible.”
The process of loading SNAP cards can take up to multiple weeks depending on the state, so SNAP recipients are likely to receive delayed payments in November. Allison Bovell-Ammon, Massachusetts’ Assistant Undersecretary for Children & Family Services, stated in an Nov. 5 email to food organizations that SNAP recipients would receive “partial” benefits from the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance the week of Nov. 10.
“USDA has cut the maximum SNAP benefits by 50% for November, which will have a devastating impact on households that are struggling to afford food,” she wrote. “Cutting the maximum benefit in half creates a compounding effect on the benefit calculation that will leave many families receiving far less than half of their normal benefits, and some with no benefits at all.”
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