SNAP benefits remained in limbo Sunday, even after Pennsylvania’s state government began issuing the November food assistance payments late last week following a court ruling.
The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked that order, which required President Donald Trump’s administration to provide 100% of the funding normally allotted to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, previously known as food stamps.
On Saturday night, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the program, published guidance saying states were not authorized to make full payments.
“Accordingly, States must immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025,” wrote Patrick A. Penn, the department’s under secretary of food, nutrition, and consumer services, in the memo.
Pennsylvania was among the states that began sending out payments hours after a Rhode Island judge declared that Washington must fund the program. State governments operate SNAP with federal dollars.
"We have received USDA's latest memo that, once again, seeks to block an order to feed hungry Pennsylvanians," Rosie Lapowsky, a spokesperson for Gov. Josh Shapiro, said in a statement Sunday. "We are evaluating next steps and are awaiting the court's decision.”
Representatives from Governor Josh Shapiro’s administration had said that money was being uploaded Friday to participants’ Electronic Benefit Transfer, or EBT, cards.
Officials said their goal was to deliver about $100 million that day to beneficiaries who would have normally received payments through the first seven days of a month. Those enrolled receive the funds on a staggered schedule.
The USDA memo warns of potential repercussions for not abiding by the new guidance, including cancelling reimbursement for administrative costs and holding states accountable for any overpayments. Penn instructed state agencies to move forward with an earlier plan to issue reduced benefits, with maximum allocations at 65% of typical levels.
“We’re not out of the woods. The Trump administration can still go to court and stop this, and they are,” Shapiro said at a Friday afternoon press conference announcing the full SNAP payments were being distributed. “I hope they’re not successful. If they are, then you’re going to have another group of Pennsylvanians who aren’t going to get their benefits going forward."
The Supreme Court decision – to delay the earlier order until an appeals panel reached a judgement – and subsequent USDA guidance is the latest development in the ongoing wrangling over whether the White House is required to fund SNAP during the government shutdown.
Trump administration officials, in response to earlier court edicts, had agreed to tap into a SNAP contingency fund to provide reduced November benefits; however, processing the changes was expected to take weeks.
Democrats have called on the USDA to transfer about $4 billion from a separate account to fully fund SNAP, but USDA leaders have argued that the move would threaten child nutrition programs, including a widely-used school meal program.
About 472,000 Philadelphians, or 30% of the city’s population, are enrolled in SNAP, and Mayor Cherelle Parker earlier this month allocated $7 million in municipal money to respond to the suspension of benefits.
Even on Friday, when it appeared that the assistance might be fully restored, Parker’s office said her initiative “remains fully operational.”
