Two federal judges ruled on Friday, Oct. 31, that the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program must be funded, at least partially, in November. The rulings came one day before program benefits were expected to cease because of the federal government shutdown.
The judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island said the government must use emergency reserve funds during the government shutdown, according to an Associated Press report. An estimated $6 billion is in the reserve fund. The program needs about $8 billion to fund a full month of benefits.
It’s not certain how quickly the reserve funds can be used to recharge the cards program beneficiaries use to buy food.
Nearly 42 million Americans and 1.9 million Illinois residents depend on the program. The Greater Chicago Food Depository, which serves numerous food pantries throughout the region, including the South Suburbs, said in a statement Tuesday, Oct. 28, that food pantries would have to multiply their capacity nine times in order to meet the need if SNAP benefits had been interrupted.
Illinois was one of 25 states and the District of Columbia that sued the federal government, arguing that it was legally obligated to use the reserve funds rather than stopping benefits.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced on Thursday, Oct. 30, that the state would provide $20 million in assistance to help fill the gap in federal funding.
There have been no reports of progress in Washington on resolving the government shutdown.
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