USDA Halts November Food Stamps for 42 Million People as More Than Two Dozen States Sue

With appropriations lapsed since October 1, the Agriculture Department announced in late October 2025 that it would not issue November benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which serves roughly 42 million people — about one in eight Americans — at an average of about $187 a month and roughly $8 billion in monthly cost. On October 28, more than two dozen Democratic attorneys general and governors sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The dispute centered on a contingency fund holding about $6 billion. USDA argued the fund was available only to supplement benefits when an appropriation exists but falls short, not to fund a new fiscal year with no appropriation at all. Budget analysts disputed that reading; Bobby Kogan of the Center for American Progress said that if an entitlement exists and money is available to meet it, the money must be used.

The question was whether an available contingency reserve may be left unspent while a statutory food-assistance entitlement goes unfunded.

On October 31, 2025, a federal judge ordered the administration to use contingency funds for November benefits. The administration said in early November it would fund roughly half of full benefits.