As SNAP deadline looms, some 2,000 Kerr County residents face losing food benefits

Two federal judges ruled Friday that the Trump administration must use emergency funds to continue food stamp payments, offering some relief to approximately 2,000 Kerr County residents and millions of others nationwide who faced losing benefits Saturday.

U.S. District judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island issued nearly simultaneous rulings requiring the U.S. Department of Agriculture to tap into roughly $5.3 billion in contingency funds to pay Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits during the government shutdown.

However, recipients will likely face delays and reduced payments. The contingency funds won’t fully cover the $8 billion monthly cost of SNAP, and it typically takes one to two weeks to reload benefits onto electronic cards. The judges gave the administration until Monday to report on implementation plans.

“There is no doubt that the contingency funds are appropriated funds that are without a doubt necessary to carry out the program’s operation,” U.S. District Judge John McConnell said in the Rhode Island case.

The impact will be felt across Texas, where more than 3.5 million residents — including 1.7 million children — rely on SNAP benefits each month. Nationally, approximately 42 million Americans receive the assistance, affecting roughly 7.6% of Kerr County households.

“Bottom line, the well has run dry,” the USDA had said earlier in a notice posted to its website, announcing that benefits would not be issued Nov. 1.

The government shutdown, now in its 31st day, created an impasse over SNAP funding. The Trump administration had declined to tap into the contingency funds, saying the money was reserved only for natural disasters.

The Friday court rulings came in response to lawsuits filed by 25 states and Washington, D.C., as well as a separate suit by cities, nonprofits, unions and businesses. The Boston lawsuit was brought by Democratic attorneys general and governors, while the Rhode Island case included cities and community organizations.

“When the President and his Administration blame lapsing SNAP benefits on the government shutdown, they are lying to you,” Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha said earlier this week.

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston ruled that the administration is “required” to use the contingency funds and may need to supplement them with additional transfers to avoid benefit reductions.

In the Rhode Island case, Judge McConnell also ordered that all previous work requirement waivers must continue to be honored. The USDA had terminated waivers during the shutdown that exempted work requirements for older adults and veterans.

The Trump administration could appeal the rulings. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Friday the department is “looking at all the options.”

As of Wednesday evening, there was no sign of a breakthrough. The Senate has failed 13 times to advance a GOP funding bill to end the shutdown.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that Democrats would support standalone bills to fund SNAP introduced by both Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, and Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-New Mexico. Luján’s bill would also fund the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC.

“So today, Democrats will introduce a bill that would extend the SNAP funding and WIC to make sure no child goes hungry, no family goes without food,” Schumer said at his weekly press conference.

But Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, has blocked efforts to pass standalone SNAP funding, calling it a “piecemeal approach” and insisting the full government funding bill must pass first.

“This piecemeal approach, where you do one-off here, one-off there to make it seem more politically palatable to somebody or less painful, that’s just the wrong way to do this,” Thune said Tuesday.

House Speaker Mike Johnson called standalone SNAP and federal salary bills a “waste of our time.”

Craig Gundersen, a Baylor University economics professor who studies SNAP, warned of severe consequences from any disruption to benefits.

“I think that this can be catastrophic,” Gundersen said.

Even with Friday’s court orders, food banks across the state are preparing for increased demand as recipients face delays.

“We will do whatever is required of us, even emptying the warehouse if that is what is needed,” said Erik Cooper, president of the San Antonio Food Bank, which serves the greater San Antonio region including Kerr County. The food bank expects a 50% increase in demand.

San Antonio-based grocery chain H-E-B announced a $6 million donation last week — $5 million to Texas food banks and $1 million to Meals on Wheels programs that serve homebound seniors. Bill Miller Bar-B-Q donated $192,000 to Meals on Wheels San Antonio.

SNAP benefits average about $350 per household per month. Households with children, elderly individuals or people with disabilities receive 83% of SNAP benefits, according to the USDA.

What recipients should know:

Recipients should continue to use any remaining SNAP balance on their Lone Star Cards. The cards will still work for existing balances.

It will likely take one to two weeks for the USDA and states to reload benefits onto EBT cards following Friday’s court orders. Benefits may be reduced from normal amounts since the contingency fund doesn’t cover the full monthly cost.

Recipients must continue to recertify their benefits and report changes during the shutdown to ensure faster access to funds once the program is fully restored.

Some Texas counties may receive benefits on a delayed schedule, with distributions throughout November rather than at the beginning of the month.

Kerr County residents needing immediate food assistance can:
— Call 2-1-1 for information about local food resources
— Visit safoodbank.org/help to find nearby food distribution sites
— Search for local food banks by ZIP code at feedingtexas.org
— Contact the San Antonio Food Bank, which serves the region

The November SNAP payments total approximately $8 billion nationally and $614 million in Texas.