Food stamps announced the suspension of benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to more than 42 million recipients during the month of November due to the government shutdown.

This Monday, the United States Department of Agriculture The USDA, which manages SNAP funds, indicated that it is evaluating providing partial benefits. Patrick Penn, the Department of Agriculture official who oversees SNAP, filed a declaration with the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island announcing that, in light of the contingency, 50% of benefits are expected to be covered. In this case, it is estimated that approximately $4.6 billion in funds will be used to distribute to SNAP beneficiaries; however, it is not known exactly when the money will be transferred to EBT benefit cards, as states must implement some changes that may take time. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said that the benefits could take several weeks to arrive. For her part, Victoria Negus, senior economic justice advocate at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, said, “I hope the states move heaven and earth to get SNAP benefits out as quickly as possible.” Negus points out that this situation is unprecedented and the time it takes to send SNAP benefits depends on how quickly the states transmit data to EBT providers.