On Saturday, Minnesota began issuing full November Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments to low-income residents after a week of legal and federal dispute. The state Department of Children, Youth and Families said it started distributing full November benefits on Friday, and roughly 440,000 Minnesotans who rely on SNAP should see funds posted to EBT cards beginning Saturday. The federal USDA had announced it would suspend SNAP payments effective Nov. 1 amid the U.S. government shutdown that began Oct. 1, but litigation and subsequent federal action reversed that pause. State officials framed their move as protecting households during ongoing judicial uncertainty.
Key Takeaways
- About 440,000 Minnesotans receive SNAP assistance on average; the state began issuing full November benefits late Friday and cards were funded starting Saturday.
- SNAP participants in Minnesota receive on average about $6 per day in benefits.
- The USDA announced a suspension of payments effective Nov. 1, citing the government shutdown that began Oct. 1 and has become the longest in U.S. history.
- Two lawsuits, including one co-led by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, sought court orders to keep SNAP funded; a federal judge ordered continued payments.
- The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily paused that judge’s order on Friday night, but federal officials had already agreed to release funds and states proceeded to distribute benefits.
- During the funding delay, many Minnesotans turned to food shelves; estimates indicate that every meal a food shelf provides is supplemented by roughly nine meals that SNAP would otherwise support.
Background
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is the federal government’s largest anti-hunger program; benefits are funded and administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) through state agencies. SNAP payments are issued monthly on electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards and provide a baseline of food-purchasing power for households with low or no income. In Minnesota about 440,000 people rely on SNAP on average, receiving payments that equate to roughly $6 per person per day.
The federal government entered a funding lapse beginning Oct. 1. The USDA said it could not continue routine SNAP operations without appropriations and announced a suspension of payments effective Nov. 1. States, advocates and several attorneys general argued that abruptly cutting benefits would cause severe, immediate hardship for families and vulnerable populations, prompting legal challenges to keep benefits flowing during the lapse.
Main Event
Late Friday the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families announced it was issuing full November SNAP benefits and said beneficiaries would see funds on EBT cards beginning Saturday. The move followed a federal district judge’s order directing the administration to provide funds to maintain SNAP benefits while litigation proceeded. That order aimed to prevent an interruption to food assistance for hundreds of thousands of people.
Friday night the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily paused the district court’s order. The pause briefly introduced uncertainty about whether states could continue payments. However, federal officials subsequently agreed to release the benefits, allowing Minnesota and other states to proceed with distribution despite the temporary stay.
State officials said their action was precautionary, intended to shield families from the immediate consequences of a funding interruption. Local food shelves reported increased demand during the funding gap; state and nonprofit providers scrambled to meet short-term needs while benefits were delayed.
Analysis & Implications
Restoring benefits removes an immediate threat to household food security for roughly 440,000 Minnesotans, but it does not resolve the underlying budget dispute that triggered the interruption. The government shutdown that began Oct. 1 remains the proximate cause of the USDA’s initial suspension notice, and unless Congress appropriates funds, similar risks persist for other federal programs.
From a policy perspective, this episode highlights the operational vulnerability of entitlement programs to lapses in appropriations and to the timelines of litigation. Courts can provide temporary relief, but judicial remedies are contingent and can be stayed, as the Supreme Court’s pause illustrated. States that chose to move forward with distributions accepted short-term fiscal risk to protect beneficiaries.
Economically, SNAP benefits are a stabilizer: program research shows that SNAP spending supports local grocery purchases and reduces food insecurity. Minnesota’s rapid restoration likely reduced immediate demand on emergency food providers; however, prolonged federal uncertainty could force food shelves and state budgets to absorb additional burdens if similar interruptions recur.
Comparison & Data
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Minnesotans receiving SNAP (avg.) | 440,000 people |
| Average SNAP benefit per participant | ~$6 per day |
| Government shutdown start | Oct. 1 (now longest in U.S. history) |
The table above summarizes the core figures relevant to Minnesota’s restoration of benefits. While SNAP provides a small daily allotment per person on average, its reach is broad: program benefits translate into many meals when aggregated. Analysts note that food shelves and community providers cannot substitute for the scale of SNAP; for every meal a food shelf provides, SNAP is estimated to enable about nine meals through household purchasing power.
Reactions & Quotes
Officials, legal advocates and service providers offered immediate responses highlighting both relief and ongoing concern about federal funding stability.
“We are taking these steps to protect Minnesotans during this period of uncertainty around future court decisions.”
Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families (state agency)
“We filed to ensure families did not lose access to benefits as the appropriations lapse played out in court.”
Keith Ellison, Minnesota Attorney General (legal filing)
Local food shelf operators described a spike in demand during the pause in payments and welcomed the restoration while cautioning that charitable networks are not a long-term substitute for federal assistance.
Unconfirmed
- Whether all 440,000 beneficiaries received funds on the same day varies by county and EBT processing time and is still being tallied.
- The long-term administrative and budgetary arrangements between the USDA and states for covering any retroactive costs from state distributions remain under negotiation and may not be finalized.
Bottom Line
Minnesota’s restoration of full November SNAP benefits provided immediate relief to hundreds of thousands of residents facing potential food insecurity after an announced federal suspension. The combination of litigation and federal consent to release payments averted a sudden cutoff but left open the larger question of how essential programs will be insulated from future appropriations disputes.
For policymakers and advocates, the episode reinforces the need for contingency planning and clearer mechanisms to prevent service interruptions. For households that depend on SNAP, the prompt release of funds reduces near-term hardship; sustained confidence in benefit delivery will depend on a resolution to the government funding impasse and on any further court rulings.
Sources
- Star Tribune (local news)
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service (federal agency)
- Office of the Minnesota Attorney General (state official)