By Genine Hopkins
On Friday, two federal judges ordered the Trump Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to release the contingency funds for November SNAP payments. These orders come after USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins had ordered the states to suspend SNAP for the month of November due to the government shut down. At issue was funding from prior years that set aside a SNAP contingency fund for such emergencies, with the Trump Administration saying it could not fund SNAP since the 2025-2026 FY budget had not been approved, resulting in the government shut down.
Twenty-five states sued the administration to use the previously allocated contingency fund monies to fund SNAP through them until an agreement could be made to re-open the government. What resulted caused the 1 in 8 Americans who receives SNAP to not have their benefits loaded as usual on November 1st.
At issue and used as demands for bargaining with the government shutdown and an approval of either a fully FY 2025-2026 budget or a “stop-gap” budget that literally kicks the can down the road for a month or two, before another potential crisis and shut down can occur. The minority Democrats in Congress are holding out approval of a stop gap until the majority Republicans guarantee approval of an extension of the ACA subsidies for middle and lower middle class working families. Which brings this full circle with SNAP.
Two families in Harrison – one of which is a traditional American family with a working mother and father and two kids and the other a single parent family of four – both receive their healthcare through the Healthcare Marketplace since the insurance offered by their employers is too expensive for the entire family. The single parent family also receives SNAP benefits. Both preferred to remain anonymous.
“I really was upset by the loss of our November SNAP,” said the young, single mother who works two jobs and around 65 hours per week, “But as much as that is going to hurt us, the rise in my premiums I just was notified about is incredible and actually MORE than the SNAP amount I receive per month.”
She showed her new premium bill for a family of four, herself and her three children, which went from $89 per month to over $400 per month. She had been upset at the Democrats until she received her renewal premium.
“I had been very mad at the shutdown and was really mad when we lost our November SNAP, but I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do now that I don’t have money for food or money to pay my health insurance!” she shared.
The SNAP pause caused enormous increases for the monthly mobile distribution in Clare on November 1st. Typically serving between 280 and 350 households, the November distribution nearly doubled, with around 600 households served. The monthly distribution, previously sponsored by MMCAA and The Community Nutrition Network but is now facilitated by the Lansing Food Bank, had TWO active lines for food instead of the one normally needed.
One volunteer, MMC’s psychology professor Kelley Eltzroth, said she was amazed by how many attended the distribution.
“If we didn’t have two lines, we probably would have been there until 3 p.m. or later,” she shared.
As reported last week, Michigan Democrats drafted a bill to use lapsed project money to provide SNAP benefits for Michigan residents. Several other states, including Maryland, Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia, have already pushed through state money to provide SNAP for November to enrollees in their state. In Michigan, the bill proposed passed the State Senate on Thursday – which is controlled by the Democrats – but still faces a battle in the State House, which is controlled by Republicans. The bill would also provide future emergency SNAP money in case this occurs again in the future, as well as increased funding to food banks and pantries.
Clare County’s Representative in the State House, Tom Kunse, had issues with where the money was coming from and also the fact that when the federal government opens back up, Michigan will not be reimbursed for any months the state provides SNAP benefits.
“While I fully support making sure every Michigander has access to food, lapsed funds were never intended to support ongoing programs, and redirecting them without a clear, sustainable plan could create challenges for next year’s budget. We want to aid in a way that is responsible and transparent…At the state level, we passed a budget that includes strong support for programs like 2-1-1 and direct assistance to local food banks. I remain committed to protecting vulnerable families while maintaining sound fiscal practices, and we will continue to pursue practical, sustainable solutions that ensure no Michigan family goes without the help they need.”
The Clare County Review reached out to several members of both the federal and state government regarding the exponential increase in ACA health insurance premiums but has not heard back as of press time. House and Senate Democrats stand firm in their demands on renewing ACA subsidies before opening the government back up. Around 40 million Americans use the ACA Marketplace to buy their health insurance, some with subsidies, some without due to income limits.
After the judges ordered the administration to release the contingency funding, the White House said there was only $4 billion in the fund which is about half of what is typically allocated to the states each month. Therefore, approved households would only receive half their benefits.
But a post from the President on Truth Social implied no contingency funds for SNAP would be released, with the White House later correcting that, saying they were preparing to release funding to the states soon. The White House did indicate that it could be a while before recipients receive the funds however.
The only clear thing that is non-partisan is that citizens of the U.S. who are working poor, disabled, and elderly, will lose on food this holiday season.
