OAN Staff Blake Wolf
1:15 PM – Monday, October 27, 2025
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that approximately 42 million Americans will lose their Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefits beginning on November 1st due to the government shutdown.
The SNAP governmental program provides low-income families with assistance in purchasing groceries, meaning food banks will now presumably have to pick up the slack amid the ongoing shutdown.
The agency, which administers SNAP, also stated that it will not use its emergency contingency fund to cover regular month-to-month payments for November.
The USDA’s website announced the lapse in funds by informing beneficiaries that “the well has run dry.”
“Senate Democrats have now voted 12 times to not fund the food stamp program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01,” the message read.
Advertisement“We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance,” it concluded.
Additionally, the agency revealed that the reserve of contingency funds previously set aside cannot be used because they are only available “to supplement regular monthly benefits when amounts have been appropriated for, but are insufficient to cover, benefits.”
“The contingency fund is not available to support FY 2026 regular benefits, because the appropriation for regular benefits no longer exists,” the USDA wrote in a letter. “The best way for SNAP to continue is for the shutdown to end.”
The USDA added that the contingency fund is intended for unforeseen events, such as natural disasters, and therefore cannot be used under the current circumstances — attributing the government shutdown to actions by Senate Democrats.
Although the administration stated that the contingency funds cannot be utilized, Bobby Kogan, a former White House budget official and current senior director of federal budget policy at the Center for American Progress argued: “If there’s not enough money, you can use it.”
“That is the point of the contingency fund,” he continued, adding that SNAP’s entitlement program status requires the USDA to “use the pot of money.”
Meanwhile, the over 40 million Americans who rely on SNAP benefits are likely to turn to local food banks, churches, and anti-hunger organizations to fill in the gaps.
“When that social safety net breaks above us, we will be there to do as much as we can,” stated Andrea Williams, president of the Oregon Food Bank, which serves over 2 million people per year. “And it will not be enough.”
According to a New York Times report, citing several food bank directors, for every nine meals that SNAP can provide, food pantries are only able to provide one, showcasing the gap that will be felt by millions of Americans.
“It means people will go hungry, and in particular, kids and seniors and rural communities,” Williams added.
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