In response to a federal court order to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the use of emergency funds to partially pay for the country's food assistance program during the government shutdown was announced.

Despite the initial denial, The Trump administration agreed on Monday to allocate billions of dollars in emergency funds to partially pay for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), although it is believed that some families may not receive benefits for weeks. Initially, the USDA stated that "Contingency funds are not legally available to cover regular benefits," and therefore refused to use them for this program. However, given the court order, it had to change its position. It is worth noting that the loss of this key social safety net program increases the pressure on Congress to end the federal government shutdown, which began on October 1, by passing a federal spending package. Democratic lawmakers have said they will not support a short-term spending bill unless it includes an extension of the Affordable Care Act's expanded subsidies. For now, the determination appears to be a temporary relief, as in a declaration filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, Patrick Penn, the Department of Agriculture official who oversees SNAP, stated that the administration “intends to completely deplete SNAP's contingency funds and provide reduced SNAP benefits by November 2025.” According to Penn, the contingency fund has approximately $4 billion that can be used to cover November benefit payments. Officials have indicated that approximately $9 billion would be needed to cover all such benefits. For now, that $4 billion$600 million will be used to cover 50% of current allowances for eligible households, Penn said. According to official data, more than 42 million Americans rely on SNAP to buy food, and the program ran out of funds over the weekend due to the partial government shutdown. However, aid to food assistance recipients may not be immediate. Penn wrote in his statement that there could be “significant payment errors and delays” due to variations among state eligibility systems, which must adjust to the reduced payments. “As the USDA understands it, at least for some states, the system changes they must implement to provide the reduced benefit amounts will take anywhere from a few weeks to several months,” he said.