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Food stamp recipients spend significant portions of their allotments on junk food. Top Items Purchased with Food Stamps Rank Item Purchased 1 Soft Drinks 2 Fluid Milk 3 Ground Beef 4 Bag Snacks 5 Cheese 6 Baked Breads 7 Cold Cereal

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as SNAP, unexpectedly took center stage in debates over the federal government shutdown.As funding for the program, formerly known as Food Stamps, ran out in October, Congress, President Donald Trump, and the federal courts have wrestled with what to do about feeding millions of Americans who depend on this benefit each month.SNAP has grown in size and cost since its inception in 1964, as have many other social welfare programs.Here’s a closer look at the program, what it costs, the participation rates in different states, and how it has come to top $100...

The Supreme Court's decision to allow the administration to pay only partial SNAP benefits during the shutdown gives Donald Trump and the Republicans in Congress a clear road to victory in the shutdown fight now entering its 39th day. SCOTUS recognized that this is not a separation of powers constitutional issue. It's a political issue, and the Supreme Court tends to avoid intervening in political disputes. The ball is now firmly in the hands of the Democrats, who have gotten themselves into a no-win situation. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tried a delay gambit, offering to reopen the government if...

It was so interesting yesterday when our Great Senator from Louisiana, John Kennedy, introduced a Bill in an attempt to withhold Members of Congress from getting paid, and Rand Paul, who never votes for anything, tried to stop it, because he wanted to be paid! In other words, Rand wanted to pay the people who stopped Government from working! What’s going on with Rand?

The Trump administration on Friday appealed to the Supreme Court after an appeals court ordered the government to fully fund food stamps for November. The First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to begin taking steps to fully cover Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payments by the end of the day Friday, CBS News reported. The appeals court had denied the administration's request for a temporary administrative stay of a lower court order, adding that it is still considering the Justice Department's request for longer relief while it considers the appeal. "The core power...

BREAKING: Supreme Court issues emergency order temporarily blocking full SNAP food aid payments - AP

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson temporarily halted an order requiring the Trump administration make full Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) November payments by Friday. Jackson’s ruling pauses some of the payments until the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit can decide the administration’s motion to block the order pending its appeal. It does not reflect a ruling on the underlying legal merits of the case, but it provides a temporary reprieve to the Trump administration, which went to the Supreme Court earlier Friday evening. “Given the First Circuit’s representations, an administrative stay is required to facilitate the...

Kentucky Governor @GovAndyBeshear tells Kentuckians that their SNAP benefits being cut are on @POTUS . He’s considering running for president in 2028.

“Several KATU viewers contacted us overnight to say their SNAP benefits loaded onto their cards late Thursday night. One viewer even sent a photo of their $748 dollar balance. The Oregon Department of Human Services confirmed on their website that SNAP benefits have started to load onto cards”

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Thursday to fund food stamps in full for roughly 42 million low-income Americans, after admonishing the government for delaying aid under the nation’s largest anti-hunger program during the shutdown. The order, issued by Judge John J. McConnell Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, marked his second legal rebuke of the administration for actions that threatened to leave millions of Americans at risk of financial hardship. Reading his directive from the bench after a short but tense hearing, Judge McConnell sharply criticized the administration for ignoring his...

width="50%" Store manager Jose Pajares says he's slashing prices and stocking less food since business has slowed down at the Save A Lot in Springfield, Mass. The bulk of their customers depend on SNAP benefits, and the store depends on their business. A lapse in funding would hurt everyone. SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Theresa Rios came to the grocery store this week with a shorter shopping list than usual. And she's also paying even more attention than usual to price. Walking past a shelf of items labeled "Real Bacon Bits" next to packages of imitation bacon bits, Rios doesn't hesitate. "This...

It's astounding, the things we learn when the money runs out and governments actually have to start prioritizing for a change. As the Schumer Shutdown drags through Week Five with no end in sight, the country's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — aka "food stamps" — ran out of money on Saturday. And given who was taking, it's a miracle that there was any money left at all. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins reported yesterday that earlier this year, "we told every state to send us their SNAP data so we could make sure illegal immigrants aren’t getting benefits meant for...

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said that her agency has found massive fraud in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. It must be reformed, she added. Rollins said that the program gives food benefits to illegal aliens, and others abuse the system meant to feed hungry, low-income families. :snip: “The Democrat Party has turned its back on working Americans and built its entire strategy around protecting illegal aliens. They know if the handouts stop, those illegals will go back home, and Democrats will lose 20+ seats after the next census," Rollins said. "There’s a new sheriff in town. @POTUS...

Well well well… Judge McConnell donated $700K to Democrats. He runs nonprofit Crossroads Rhode Island that has received $128 million in government funding. McConnell is now demanding POTUS Trump illegally fund SNAP. After he tried to block DOGE cuts. He’s a Dem activist.

C3 @C_3C_3 Well well well… Judge McConnell donated $700K to Democrats. He runs nonprofit Crossroads Rhode Island that has received $128 million in government funding. McConnell is now demanding POTUS Trump illegally fund SNAP. After he tried to block DOGE cuts. He’s a Dem activist.

SNAP food benefits could restart as early as Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday morning. Two federal judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island ruled on Friday that the Trump administration must use emergency funds to pay SNAP benefits, which help feed 42 million Americans, during the government shutdown. Judge Jack McConnell of Rhode Island also directed that these be paid out of emergency funds “as soon as possible.” Boston Judge Indira Talwani gave the administration until Monday to tell her if it will authorize at least reduced SNAP benefits for November. The administration was originally set to cut...

The University of California is warning that about 58,000 students may see delays in their November CalFresh food benefits as the federal government shutdown disrupts funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. In a statement shared with SFGATE on Friday, a UC Office of the President spokesperson said they are working to coordinate an emergency response with campuses and local partners. A 2024 report from the nonpartisan California Policy Lab found that about one-third of UC undergraduates were eligible for CalFresh, while on 22% of those eligible received benefits in fall 2019. “Students shouldn’t have to worry about...

With no deal in place to reopen the government and no action from the administration to make up for a funding shortfall in federal benefits, millions of Americans are at risk of losing food benefits starting on Saturday. The argument raging in the Senate mirrors the same argument that has so far seen the government shutdown for 32 days. Senate Democrats contend that with the stroke of a pen — like on expiring Obamacare subsidies — President Donald Trump could easily see the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), more commonly known as food stamps, funded as the shutdown drags on....

Two federal judges on Oct. 31 said the U.S. Department of Agriculture is legally required to use emergency funds to pay out food stamps benefits during the government shutdown. The Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program’s (SNAP’s) funding was set to lapse on Nov. 1 because of the government shutdown, potentially affecting the food security of more than 40 million Americans. A federal judge in Rhode Island ruled from the bench that the program must be funded using at least the contingency funds. U.S. District Judge Jack McConnell also asked for an update on progress by Monday.

President Trump on Friday evening responded to a judge’s ruling on SNAP benefits. More than 40 million Americans rely on SNAP benefits, and the $5 billion emergency fund was not enough to cover the program for November. Unions and nonprofit groups filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Agriculture earlier this week ahead of the November 1 cutoff. Funds for the SNAP benefits are drying up because Schumer and the Democrats refuse to vote for the clean CR bill to reopen the government. US District Judge John McConnell, an Obama appointee, ordered Trump on Friday to use the emergency...