Note: Since this blog was originally published on October 28, the Trump administration announced on November 3, 2025, that it will comply with federal court orders and begin using contingency funds to partially pay November SNAP benefits as the government shutdown continues. It remains unclear when SNAP recipients will receive these partial benefits. The USDA’s filing in response to the court orders indicate it could take anywhere from weeks to months depending on a particular state. As a result, the 240,000 Arkansans who use SNAP to put food on the table are still at risk of hunger as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches and many school children will be at home during the week of Thanksgiving without access to school meals.
As the federal government shutdown continues, millions of Americans are caught in uncertainty — including the almost 240,000 Arkansas families who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to put meals on the table. However, the status of ongoing food assistance via SNAP became clearer on Friday, October 24. That afternoon, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a memorandum notifying states that November 2025 SNAP benefit allotments will be suspended until sufficient federal funding is provided or other direction is given. This suspension is effective November 1, 2025.
This decision will hit particularly hard in Arkansas, where we already have the highest food insecurity rate in the nation at 18.9%, compared to 13.5% nationally. If SNAP goes unfunded for the month of November, it will result in empty Thanksgiving tables, and parents and other caregivers struggling to feed their children throughout the holiday break when school meals will not be an option. It will push many Arkansas families from “just getting by” into severe hunger.
It didn’t have to be this way. In fact, the USDA has more than one mechanism it could utilize to fund SNAP benefits in November despite the ongoing federal shutdown. First, current law requires available contingency reserves to supplement SNAP benefits when funding is inadequate. In fact, the USDA’s own “Lapse of Funding Plan” (which has recently been removed from the USDA website) states that, “multi-year contingency funds are also available to fund participant benefits in the event that a lapse occurs in the middle of the fiscal year.” Further, current law also provides that these contingency funds “shall be placed in reserve for use only in such amounts and at such times as may become necessary to carry out program operations.”
Hunger has already been rising as pandemic-era supports have ended and grocery prices rise. And now, amidst the current federal government shutdown, tapping into these contingency funds is necessary to ensure that children, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities do not go hungry. To be fair, the existing contingency funds available to support SNAP benefits total approximately $5 billion, or two-thirds of the total $8 billion required to fully fund November SNAP benefits nationwide. However, another mechanism authorized under 7 U.S.C. 2257 would allow the USDA to transfer certain funds from other nutrition programs — as was recently done when it transferred money from the Child Nutrition Fund to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). A similar transaction to SNAP could then make up the remaining difference, thereby ensuring that SNAP beneficiaries across the nation receive their full November SNAP allotment.
But the Administration has chosen not to use the tools at their disposal to fund SNAP benefits next month. Instead, the Administration maintains that it does not have the authority to use the $5 billion of SNAP contingency reserves, despite evidence to the contrary. The Administration also states that any transfer of other nutrition funds to supplement SNAP benefits would result in disruption to states’ WIC benefits and school meals. However, experts state that existing Child Nutrition account carry-over funds remain and that Office of Management and Budget apportionment documents indicate availability of about $23 billion from another USDA account known as “Section 32.” In other words, it appears there would be sufficient funds for a one-time transfer of $3 billion to provide full SNAP allotments for November without causing harm to WIC benefits or school meal funding.
This choice will not only impact those who receive SNAP benefits, but also small business retailers who rely on SNAP to keep their businesses running. Even larger retailers’ bottom lines will be affected by the disappearance of SNAP purchases. Consequently, grocery costs may increase even more as retailers potentially raise prices in response to the lack of SNAP purchases, impacting all consumers and our broader economy next month.
The choice to not fund November SNAP benefits will also undoubtedly stretch our network of food banks and pantries beyond their capacity to serve all children and families who will be in need. Our network of food banks and pantries across the state, as well as other faith and community organizations, will strive to support Arkansas families. However, these efforts simply cannot fill the nutrition gap that will result from this SNAP benefit disruption considering that for every one meal that a food bank provides, SNAP provides nine.
As a result, the failure to remedy the current circumstances will mean real harm for children, seniors, veterans, and families already struggling with soaring grocery prices. And this harm is preventable. No one should go hungry because of political gridlock. The federal government must ensure that low-income families have access to critical food assistance that ensures their physical health, peace of mind, and their dignity.