How much support will be delivered to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries this month—if they will receive any at all—is uncertain as federal judges and the Trump administration wrangle over payments.
A short-term deal negotiated in the Senate over the weekend of November 8 and 9 could fund federal agencies and reopen the government. Meantime, legal wrangling between federal courts and the Trump administration over SNAP funding continues.
Late Sunday November 9, a U.S. appeals court denied the administration’s efforts to stop the release of full funding for SNAP after the Supreme Court’s Friday November 7 temporary halt of a federal court ruling issued late the day before ordering the Trump administration to release SNAP benefits in full to states by November 7.
These developments add to the uncertainty around SNAP funding for the month.
On Wednesday, November 5, in a reversal of prior statements, the Trump administration pledged to pay 65 percent of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to recipients for this month.
The decision, communicated in a USDA memo to regional SNAP directors and SNAP state agency directors, was an improvement from the 50% allotments reported as promised (CNN and AP) earlier in the week as well as the zero benefits-unless-the-shutdown-ends threatened by President Trump on Tuesday November 4.
SNAP, which provides an average of $189 in monthly assistance for groceries to 42 million people across the country–including approximately 4.8 million adults aged 60 or older who have low incomes—is a critical program, as we explain here.
Many affordable senior housing communities serve residents on fixed incomes who rely on SNAP to cover food purchases each month. In addition, some Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-assisted affordable housing providers offer meal programs on site that rely on resident payments using SNAP benefits.
Addressing food insecurity is an ongoing concern for LeadingAge at the national, state and member levels. In Virginia, for instance, through a grant from the Community Foundation for a Greater Richmond, LeadingAge Virginia’s foundation PositiveAge launched the 2023 Food Justice for Older Adults in the Richmond Region initiative; additional funding supported other activities in 2024.
Now, in the midst of uncertainty about sufficient program benefits this month and into the future, for instance, Massachusetts member 2Life is seeking support through a various channels: “… more than three in every four residents are eligible to receive SNAP benefits. When programs such as these face pressure, we see the impact firsthand,” 2Life recently posted on LinkedIn and on Instagram, urging contributions to the organization’s emergency food assistance fund, which will be generously matched by a donor. The online requests are among various initiatives under way “to ensure older adults have the food security and peace of mind they deserve,” 2Life said.
