\n<\/p>\n
For the first time in the SNAP program’s 61-year history, it doesn’t currently have funds to distribute to recipients.<\/span>Anthony Behar\/AP\/Sipa<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Normally, the 42 million<\/span> Americans who rely on food stamps (formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP) begin to receive money they can use to purchase certain groceries on the first day of each month.<\/p>\n But today, amid the 32-day-and-counting government shutdown, those funds weren\u2019t there for the vast majority of recipients. (Governors in Virginia and Vermont pledged to use state funds to keep the program going for their respective residents, though both<\/a> said<\/a> brief delays were probable as they worked out technological challenges.)<\/p>\n This is the first time<\/a> in the program\u2019s 61-year history that this has happened. Not because there have never been long government shutdowns, but because past administrations (including the first Trump administration)<\/a> used contingency funds to keep SNAP operating while Congress worked out its budget disputes.<\/p>\n After the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a memo<\/a> indicating it would not use the contingency funds during this shutdown, more than 20 states sued<\/a>, arguing that withholding already appropriated funds was illegal. A handful of cities and several nonprofit organizations filed a similar suit<\/a> Thursday.<\/p>\n On Friday, two judges indicated support for their arguments. <\/p>\n In Rhode Island, US District Judge John McConnell issued an oral decision,<\/a> affirming the plaintiffs\u2019 argument that the Trump Administration \u201cneedlessly plunged SNAP into crisis,\u201d and therefore has to use the reserve funds. <\/p>\n \u201cThere is no doubt that the six billion dollars in contingency funds are appropriated funds that are without a doubt necessary to carry out the program\u2019s operation,\u201d McConnell said, according to NBC News.<\/a><\/p>\n In a separate federal rulin<\/a>g Friday, US District Judge Indira Talwani wrote that the 20-plus states \u201care likely to succeed on their claim that Defendants\u2019 suspension of SNAP benefits is unlawful.\u201d<\/p>\n These rulings will not protect SNAP benefits forever. While $9 billion is needed to cover November benefits alone, there is only estimated<\/a> <\/strong>to be between $5 and $6 billion dollars in reserve funds. President Donald Trump has since asked the courts for guidance on how to proceed with limited funds.<\/p>\n \u201cEven if we get immediate guidance, [funding] will unfortunately be delayed while States get the money out,\u201d President Donald Trump\u00a0wrote on social media<\/a>\u00a0Friday. \u201cIf we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court, it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding.\u201d<\/p>\n In the meantime, food banks\u2014like the one I visited<\/a> in the greater Washington, DC, area earlier this week\u2014have seen demand skyrocket as the 1 in 8 Americans who normally count on SNAP continue to face uncertainty about how much money will be deposited onto their debit-like benefits cards, and when.<\/p>\n For this, the administration places full blame on Democrats, stating on the homepage<\/a> of the USDA\u2019s website that \u201cSenate Democrats have now voted 13 times to not fund the food stamp program\u2026Bottom line, the well has run dry.\u201d<\/p>\n