The Food-Stamp Crisis Could Last Months

"In the past few days, the government shutdown has thrown the food-stamp program, formally known as SNAP, into chaos. On Friday, after the Trump administration said that SNAP was on the verge of running out of money, a federal judge ordered the White House to tap into a reserve of funds and pay out billions of dollars in benefits."

"White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later appeared to walk back the president's post. The administration is "fully complying" with the court order, she said. (When reached for comment, the White House pointed me back to Leavitt's press briefing.) If the administration makes good on its promise, Americans still might not get their benefits for quite some time. In a legal filing, the administration said that it may take some states several months-yes, months -to get the benefits released,"

The government shutdown disrupted SNAP funding and prompted a federal judge to order tapping reserve funds to pay billions in benefits. The administration warned SNAP was near exhaustion and later said it could provide only half of monthly allotments. The president posted that benefits "will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government," a statement the White House press secretary later sought to walk back while asserting compliance with the court order. A legal filing cautioned that some states may take several months to release benefits despite the judge's deadline. The interruption represents an unprecedented break in the program's history.

Read at The Atlantic