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Millions Could Lose Food Aid in November as Shutdown Drags On

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  Published in Food and Wine on Friday, October 24th 2025 at 16:59 GMT by Investopedia
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SNAP Programs Stall as Government Shutdown Enters Third Week

The United States’ federal government has been in shutdown since the 22nd of September, and its impact has already rippled through a range of services. The most visible effect has been on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the federal food‑stamp program that assists millions of low‑income families. As the shutdown entered its third week, the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) reported a dramatic slowdown in benefits processing, leaving thousands of households uncertain about when they will receive the funds they depend on.

Why SNAP is in the Crosshairs

SNAP is administered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which in turn relies on the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system to process benefit requests, adjudicate eligibility, and issue the electronic “e‑stamps” that consumers load onto their debit‑style cards. When the federal payroll and funding stream halted, the EDI system was effectively shut down because it requires active federal funding to operate. With no federal budget in place, the system went offline, and all new benefit applications were put on hold.

While the EDI system was offline, the USDA could only process a handful of applications manually. In 2018, the USDA announced that only 0.4 percent of the total 6.6 million SNAP applicants would be processed each week. In contrast, before the shutdown the agency handled an average of 1.7 million applications per week—roughly 25% of the annual volume. The sheer scale of the slowdown meant that millions of people who would normally see their benefits delivered within 10–14 days were now waiting weeks, and in many cases more than a month.

Impact on Beneficiaries

The consequences of a slow‑moving or paused SNAP program are especially acute for households that are already on the brink of food insecurity. According to a 2018 USDA report, roughly 6.7 million households receive SNAP benefits; the average benefit for a family of four is about $125 a month. For many of these families, a missing month of assistance can mean the difference between a full grocery list and a reduced meal plan.

The USDA’s Office of Food and Nutrition Programs (OFNP) warned that “a slowdown in SNAP services will have a detrimental effect on the food security of low‑income families, especially during a period of higher demand for food assistance.” The agency also highlighted that a sudden spike in demand could overwhelm the manual processing pipeline when the system eventually re‑opens, leading to longer backlogs.

State‑Level Responses and Waivers

Some state agencies and local food banks stepped in to mitigate the fallout. In Iowa, for example, Governor Kim Reynolds announced a state‑wide waiver that allowed the Iowa Department of Human Services to continue issuing SNAP benefits through a manual process for the first 30 days of the shutdown. The state also partnered with the local Food Bank Network to provide emergency food supplies for families whose benefits were delayed. Similar waivers were adopted in New York and Maryland, though the scale and duration varied.

Local officials often cited the “no‑food‑no‑house” reality of families on the program. In Washington, D.C., the local Food Bank network coordinated with the USDA to hand‑deliver SNAP benefit statements to the most vulnerable households. While the federal system was offline, the USDA’s “Rapid Response” program was activated, enabling the agency to resume certain administrative functions as soon as a temporary appropriation was passed.

Federal Efforts to Restore Service

The USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service has been actively negotiating with Congress for a resolution that would temporarily fund the SNAP EDI system. As of the third week of the shutdown, a bipartisan group of lawmakers had drafted a “SNAP Emergency Funding Act” that would allocate $100 million to cover the costs of manual processing and restore the EDI system. The legislation, if passed, would also enable the USDA to process new applications and issue payments at pre‑shutdown levels.

Meanwhile, the USDA’s Food Service Center (FSC) has been working to expedite manual application reviews. Under the new policy, applicants are required to submit a physical copy of their documentation, which is then scanned, verified, and entered into a temporary database. The process is labor‑intensive, and the FSC has had to re‑staff to handle the increased workload.

Broader Economic and Social Implications

The federal shutdown’s impact on SNAP underscores the fragility of many safety‑net programs. In a broader sense, the pause in SNAP benefits magnifies the economic vulnerability of low‑income households and could push a significant number of families into deeper poverty. The USDA’s Office of Food and Nutrition Programs noted that “a pause in SNAP not only jeopardizes the health of families but also has a knock‑on effect on local economies that rely on SNAP recipients for their livelihoods.”

The Food and Nutrition Service also highlighted the importance of maintaining other nutrition programs, such as the National School Lunch Program and the Summer Food Service Program. While schools were not directly affected by the SNAP shutdown, the lack of federal funding left some institutions scrambling to provide food for students who depend on these programs during summer breaks.

Looking Forward

The USDA continues to monitor the situation closely and is actively seeking a resolution. According to an October 4th update, a provisional appropriation had been proposed to restore SNAP processing. If this appropriation passes, the USDA expects to resume full electronic processing within a week and to clear the backlog of pending applications within two months.

In the meantime, local food banks and community organizations are expected to play an even larger role in filling the gap. As the federal government continues to negotiate a lasting budget, the priority for both policymakers and the public will be to ensure that essential nutrition programs like SNAP remain uninterrupted, even in the face of political stalemates.