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The US government’s federal food-stamp program has been shut down after Congress failed to reach a deal to provide funding. The pause is the first in the program’s history, since it was introduced in 1964.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) covers around 42 million people from low-income households, giving an average of $187.20 per month to be spent on food. The program is administered by the US Department of Agriculture.
SNAP benefits are provided through accounts called EBTs. Beneficiaries spend the food stamps using EBT cards, which are like prepaid credit cards. Benefits are provided on a certain day each month.
“Millions of Americans, as of tomorrow, will no longer receive SNAP,” USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins told a briefing in Washington on Friday.
Funding for the program has stalled since the beginning of last month. Democrats have voted against reopening the government on more than a dozen occasions, and Republicans have voted to prevent funding for SNAP while a broader agreement on ending the shutdown is reached.
On Friday, a US district judge ruled that the USDA must use $5 billion in contingency funding to pay for SNAP; although this amount is just over half the $9 billion monthly cost of the program.
In a post on social media following the decision, President Trump said he had instructed lawyers to ask federal courts what could be done to ensure SNAP is funded.
“I do NOT want Americans to go hungry just because the Radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT,” Trump wrote.
Some states, like Virginia, have put in place contingency measures to allow EBT cards to continue to be used. Other states have pledged funding for food banks and other alternative food sources.
“We strongly encourage residents to open their hearts, wallets and food pantries to support their local food banks with cash or food donations and help their fellow North Dakotans in their time of need,” North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong said in a statement.
