Judges Order SNAP Benefits Must Continue: What It Means For FL

Two federal judges on Friday ruled the Trump administration must use contingency funds to continue making SNAP payments to Floridians and other recipients during the ongoing government shutdown, according to a report from The Associated Press.

The rulings came a day before the U.S. Department of Agriculture planned to freeze payments to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the nation's biggest food aid program, claiming the agency could no longer keep funding it due to the shutdown.

While many states have allocated funds to food pantries or implemented programs that would provide financial assistance to SNAP recipients, Florida has not taken any similar steps to date.

This week, all 43 Democratic Florida state legislators sent a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis asking him to declare a state of emergency over the impending halt in SNAP funding.

“This is not speculation; it’s reality,” the lawmakers, led by state House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell and state Senate Minority Leader Lori Berman, said in the letter. “We are days away from a full-blown hunger emergency that will leave families without food during the holiday season. The state cannot stand by.”

The judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island gave the administration leeway on whether to fund the program partially or in full for November.

The SNAP program serves about 1 in 8 Americans and is a major piece of the nation’s social safety net.

Earlier this week, 26 states sued the Trump administration, claiming the USDA unlawfully suspended SNAP benefits during the ongoing government shutdown. Florida did not join the lawsuit.

The analysis of USDA Food and Nutrition Service data by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shows that 2,969,000 Florida residents receive SNAP assistance. That’s 13 percent of the state population (1 in 8) who depend on benefits to keep food on the table.

• RELATED: FL SNAP Benefits Won't Go Out In November, Officials Confirm

According to the data, more than 59 percent of SNAP participants in Florida are in families with children; more than 41 percent are in families with members who are older adults or are disabled; and more than 37 percent are in working families.

After the USDA informed states that benefits would not be paid during the shutdown, the Trump administration said it wasn’t allowed to use a contingency fund with about $5 billion in it for the program, which reversed a plan from before the shutdown that said money would be tapped to keep SNAP running. Democratic officials argued that not only could that money be used, but it must be. They also said a separate fund with around $23 billion is available for the cause.

In Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell ruled from the bench in a case filed by cities and nonprofits that the program must be funded using at least the contingency funds, and he asked for an update on progress by Monday.

Along with ordering the federal government to use emergency reserves to backfill SNAP benefits, McConnell ruled that all previous work requirement waivers must continue to be honored. During the shutdown, the USDA terminated existing waivers that exempted work requirements for older adults, veterans and others.

There were similar elements in the Boston case, where U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ruled in a written opinion that the USDA has to pay for SNAP, calling the suspension “unlawful.” She ordered the federal government to advise the court by Monday as to whether they will use the contingency funds to provide reduced SNAP benefits for November or fully fund the program “using both contingency funds and additional available funds.

• RELATED: SNAP Benefits Halted In FL Due To Government Shutdown

The Associated Press contributed reporting to this story.