John,

Today is a SNAP Day of Action to sound the alarm that this weekend, more than 40 million people will go without their monthly SNAP food assistance benefits unless we act.

In collaboration with our national allies, we’re demanding the Trump administration use contingency funds required by law to provide SNAP benefits when funds have run out, and add other available funds to ensure all November SNAP benefits are distributed.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)―the agency responsible for SNAP―has at least $5 billion in contingency reserves it is required to use to help feed people¹, but last Friday the Trump administration released a memo stating its refusal to release them.²

The administration has not only the legal authority, but the obligation to release the reserve money to fund SNAP in November. After the USDA released its memo, David A. Super, a law professor and federal funding expert at Georgetown University, called the memo “absurd” and said:³

“Both the first Trump administration and this administration, as recently as the end of September, said these funds were available in the case of lapses in appropriations. This is blatantly lawless.”

The $5+ billion required for use to prevent loss of SNAP assistance is not enough to cover the $8 billion in total SNAP benefit costs in November. But the administration has other sources of funding it can tap to make up the difference, just as it used such funds to ensure adequate Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition benefits earlier this month. Failure to use the contingency funds is lawless―failure to use any of the available funds is cruel.  

The administration’s refusal to act will have catastrophic consequences, as food banks in some areas are already seeing their shelves empty before all those in need can get help. Most states are not able to step in to provide aid, and the Trump administration has already announced it will not reimburse any states that do so. The Governors of Louisiana and Virginia have declared a state of emergency due to the lack of SNAP funds.^4,5

Send a message to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and other USDA officials, demanding they release SNAP reserves to pay out November benefits.

One in eight people in this country relies on SNAP for food assistance each month. We can’t allow this administration to keep letting them down.

During the 2013 and 2018-2019 government shutdowns, Democratic and Republican administrations―including Donald Trump’s first administration―found ways to ensure SNAP was funded, whether by using contingency funds and other sources, which shows the administration can fund SNAP if it wants to.⁶

This is a matter of deliberately choosing not to fund a critical program to win a political game of chess. Families were already facing cuts or losing their benefits completely, thanks to the Big Ugly Bill signed in July, which cut SNAP by $187 billion over a decade―the largest SNAP cut in the program's history.⁷

The Trump administration can fix this and begin rolling out benefits for November; they need pressure to do what is right. We’re keeping up the pressure on Congress to weigh in⁸ and some are speaking out⁹, but we need to make sure the administration hears directly from local communities about the urgency to act.

Send a message to Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins and USDA officials demanding they release SNAP reserve funds now.

Thank you for all you do,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, CHN Action

¹ The Administration’s Shutdown of SNAP is Obviously Illegal-Updated
² Trump administration says it won't tap emergency funds to pay food aid
³ Trump Administration Won’t Use Emergency Funds for Food Stamps During Shutdown
⁴ Louisiana governor signs emergency order for food assistance
⁵ Gov. Youngkin declares state of emergency as SNAP benefits could run out
⁶ Political Will and Administrative Priorities
⁷ By the Numbers: Harmful Republican Megabill Takes Food Assistance Away From Millions of People
⁸ Congress must stand up for families that participate in SNAP
⁹ Democrats plan to sue over food aid as GOP splits on legislative patch