US President Donald Trump's administration has said it will provide reduced food aid to more than 42 million Americans, as the government shutdown this week heads towards becoming the longest ever with no resolution in sight.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) stated in a court filing that Americans who receive food assistance will get half their normal monthly allotment, following the government's use of emergency funding.
Federal judges had given the Trump administration until Monday to outline a plan for distributing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, commonly known as food stamps.
Funding for the program has been caught in limbo due to the ongoing government shutdown, which entered its second month.
While individual U.S. states administer these benefits, the program's funding originates from the federal government, which has been suspended since October 1.
States are expected to receive guidance on how to distribute the reduced allotments by the end of Monday. Federal judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island ruled that the USDA needs to utilize $5.25 billion in emergency funds to ensure at least partial payments can be made to Americans on SNAP.
Each month, SNAP costs approximately $8 billion.
The federal judges confirmed that the Trump administration could access funds set aside for contingencies to provide the necessary benefits.
President Trump had earlier stated he directed government lawyers to seek court approval on how to legally fund SNAP, noting that any guidance from the courts would likely result in delays.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mentioned in a CNN interview that the president was eager to understand the legal avenues for reallocating funds to support SNAP payments, suggesting that benefits might begin to be distributed by Wednesday.
Last month, the USDA announced that it would cease distributing food assistance funds starting November 1 due to the shutdown, stating, the well has run dry.
Half of the states and the District of Columbia filed lawsuits against the administration regarding the food-aid freeze, asserting their legal responsibility to maintain the program in their regions. Some individual states even indicated they would dip into their funds to ensure the continuation of SNAP benefits.
SNAP supports many low-income Americans in purchasing groceries by providing them with reloadable debit cards for food purchases.
A family of four typically receives around $715 per month, which breaks down to just under $6 per person per day.
