A United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) official said Monday that the department will fund 50% of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits after the ongoing federal government shutdown threatened to pause funding for the program that is used by roughly 40 million Americans with food insecurity.
When the funding will be distributed and the plan’s future should the shutdown extend into December are unclear. In the meantime, 35 states— including California — have increased support for individuals experiencing food insecurity, according to the Associated Press, and local and regional food banks are scrambling to fill the gaps.
Patrick Penn, deputy under the secretary of the Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services division at USDA, wrote the proclamation announcing the funding after federal judges in New Jersey and Rhode Island ruled Friday that USDA had to either pay SNAP benefits in full by November 4 or make a partial payment using emergency funds. He wrote that there is $4.65 billion in contingency funds that would be obligated to cover 50% of the current monthly allotments to eligible households.
Funding delay would be ‘a challenge’ for local food bank
When there is a crisis, like the January wildfires or Coronavirus pandemic, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank increases the amount of food it provides, according to David May, senior director of marketing for the organization. But, with the delay in SNAP benefits, May said the food bank needs to distribute an unprecedented amount of product to fill the gap.
“That would be a challenge,” May said of how the delay in SNAP payments would affect the food bank, “if it’s even halfway funded, that still represent a pretty enormous number of people that would then need to come to us for food assistance — quite a bit more than we’re used to.”
Penn wrote in the declaration that USDA would provide updated information to states on Monday to calculate benefits, though he wrote that he expected states to have “procedural difficulties” getting the funds to households due to the timing.
The Rhode Island ruling said under the partial payment option that the USDA must “expeditiously resolve the administrative and clerical burdens” the delay in funds would create, and said the payments must go out by November 5.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a news conference that it would take California about a week to load EBT cards once funding is available — meaning it could take until at least November 10 for funding to be distributed in California.
“These are folks who are hungry, and every day matters,” Bonta said in a news conference according to the AP.
How does this affect USC?
Over 1.5 million people in Los Angeles County, including some USC students, received CalFresh — California’s version of SNAP — benefits in August 2025, according to its data dashboard.
Huckleberry Young, a USC sophomore majoring in jazz studies, previously told Annenberg Media that he was stockpiling frozen meals and eating less in October in preparation for benefits going away or being delayed in November.
“I’m not going to die, but it’s not a sustainable practice,” Young said on October 27. “Losing CalFresh is definitely going to put a strain on me financially.”
AJ Scheitler, program director and researcher at UCLA’s Center for Health Policy Research, previously told Annenberg Media that the effects of the delay may “still be felt months into 2026.” Scheitler also encouraged students to utilize on-campus food banks, like USC’s Trojan Food Pantry, in the meantime.
The Trojan Food Pantry, which was designed to be a “supplemental food resource” for students experiencing food insecurity, provides students with up to 15 items per visit, down from 22 in previous years. Multiple students told Annenberg Media in September that the food pantry was a critical resource for them due to high costs of food in Los Angeles.
Currently enrolled students experiencing food insecurity are eligible to access the Trojan Food Pantry if they lack a dining hall meal plan or have less than 20 meals remaining.
L.A. County, City send support
Locally, the L.A. Board of Supervisors provided $10 million, a vast majority of which will be used to directly purchase food, to the L.A. Regional Food Bank, which May called “really helpful.” Multiple supervisors and officials released statements largely condemning the delay in funding in a Tuesday news release.
“Hunger doesn’t pause because of a federal government shutdown,” wrote Supervisor Holly Mitchell, a Democrat who represents the second district, which includes USC. “We must work together — across philanthropy, businesses, and community partners — to strengthen our food support systems and ensure that the 1.5 million residents who won’t receive grocery assistance next month still have access to the food they need.”
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass announced multiple measures to combat the delay in funding in a Friday news release, saying the City will work with the 19 FamilySource Centers in L.A. to distribute fresh food to families. She also said the City’s Community Investment for Families Department will give out grocery cards to eligible households with available funding.
“The City is committed to ensuring that residents stay informed and supported,” Bass wrote in the news release. “No one in Los Angeles should have to worry about putting food on the table because of circumstances beyond their control. We are mobilizing every resource available to help our communities.”
Democrats, Republicans trade blows over cause of delay
As local officials and food pantries scrambled to make up for the loss of SNAP funding, Republicans and Democrats continued to spar amid the shutdown that caused the uncertainty, both blaming each other for the delay.
Penn wrote that using Child Nutrition Program funds to fully pay for SNAP benefits, as recommended in the Rhode Island court decision, would “stray from Congressional intent.” The Child Nutrition Program provides underprivileged kids with lunches and snacks in schools and daycares, and Penn wrote that using that money to fund SNAP could deplete it before the end of the year, and hurt those using the program.
“This lag is problematic and the result of President Trump’s failure to follow the law until ordered to do so,” Bonta, who joined 21 attorneys generals and three governors in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration October 31, wrote in a statement Monday. “In addition, today’s announcement by the Trump Administration represents a moral failure. We are the richest country in the world, and the federal government could fully fund November SNAP benefits if it wanted to.”
Other Democratic leaders, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and various attorneys general, have also made statements blasting the Trump administration for not fully funding SNAP and for not making an effort to negotiate on issues like the proposed increase to healthcare costs in the annual spending bill.
Some Republican leaders — including Trump — have fought back, blaming Senate Democrats for voting down the spending bill 13 times, extending the shutdown.
“We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats,” a notice on USDA’s Food and Nutrition Services Department reads. “They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance.”