What’s happening with food stamps in the US?

[OverDram]

I’m seeing it all over social media. Has Trump stopped the equivalent of benefits?

Can someone explain please?

I believe it's because of the continued government shutdown, so the funds aren't available - there is an emergency fund but the trump administration is refusing to use it. However I'm no expert, someone more knowledgeable than me can confirm.

https://www.npr.org/2025/10/28/g-s1-95189/snap-food-stamps-government-shutdown-november

Why aren’t these funds available?

Because of Trump. They will run out in two days and he's said that they will not be supported by a contingency fund unless there is a natural disaster. Good summary here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c74jden8ddxo

We complain a lot about UKG (and I live in Wales, so I also complain about the Senedd!) but can you imagine if we had government shutdowns over here?

Sorry, what's your AIBU?

It’s because a budget for the next fiscal year hasn’t been agreed on.
They hold votes on where federal funds are going to be assigned - education, health, welfare etc literally every penny of federal money.
And the government is still shut down because they can’t come to an agreement on the budget.
We are a military family, and in mid-October, no money had been allocated for the military pay office 🫠 So nobody got paid. Then all of a sudden money got magicked up from the military research budget and was re-allocated to the pay office.
So the money is all there. It’s just not allocated - and one of the places it’s not allocated is S.N.A.P (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).
So as of today, the new cycle of S.N.A.P benefits that should be received by eligible people will not be available on 1st November like it should be. The estimate in my state is that 500,000 people will be experiencing food insecurity as of Saturday.

And of course, no legislation can be passed while Congress is in recess, and the Republicans seem to be avoiding...you know...having a legislature - because they don't want a vote on releasing the Epstien files.

Because Trump is a nonce.

So the governors that allocate the money have paused working because once they start working they will have to vote on releasing the Epstein files? So to stop that happening everything has been paused? This is crazy

Why isn’t it a rolling thing?

They managed to make sure they were paid though.

I’m trying to read up on it. It’s crazy. How is it legal to pause like this?

I find it crazy that there's a system where people either have to stop working and get no income, or have to work with no pay, and that critical things like the food stamps stop. And that it's allowed to repeatedly happen. It's mind-boggling to me that you'd have a system that can treat people like that. And to have people like air traffic controllers have to take on additional jobs in addition to working air traffic unpaid is a major safety issue.

Of course they did.

And all the while, my local mom groups on social media are full of mothers panicking that they are going to run out of baby formula and not be able to replace it….because formula costs $40-$60 a can and they won’t be getting their SNAP in November 🫠

Same. We have savings, but a lot of people are not so lucky. We are stationed overseas though so I think our WIC is protected for a little longer. Commissary's only have funds for 60 days so they will be closing soon-ish, if the government doesn't reopen.

Is there a legal limit that the government is allowed to shutdown for?

My son lives out there and has for 15 years. Apparently these shutdowns, over budgets, are a regular thing.

Fucking hell. I thought £12 a tin was bad. That's an insane amount for formula. 😟

I know someone who works in a school on the USAF base over here. She hasn't been paid and because she lives in the UK can't get a second job. It ridiculous.

Nobody got paid - not even active duty military. Then that money got magicked up, so active duty got paid, but civilian contractors didn’t.
The medical centre in our USAF base is in shambles. The only services available at the moment are “essential services” - so emergency room & labour and delivery basically. The pharmacy is rationing medications because there’s no budget for them to be able to restock. I’m on my last pack of mine and can’t order my repeat prescription because they haven’t got it. The way health insurance works for military folk here, is you are either on Tricare Prime or Tricare Select. Prime is free for active duty servicemen and their dependants, but you have to be seen on base. Select has an out-of-pocket fee but you get to choose where you get care as long as the doctor you choose is in Network, but obviously most of those doctors now don’t want to see Tricare patients because when they go to make the insurance claim to Tricare to get paid, theirs no budget allocated to pay for it…..so we are fucked unless we can pay out-of-pocket to see a random doctor off base (which most of us can’t especially right now!)

Surely it doesn’t affect uk folk, I’ve a daily battle with Parkinson’s, why trouble me with this?

It’s all over my local news that my local airport has a food pantry set up for TSA employees to use 😔
Still going to work, not getting paid and having to take donations of food, nappies and formula because otherwise they aren’t going to have it.
It’s fucking disgusting.
(But there’s money there to build The Orange Turd’s fucking golden ballroom?! 🫠🫠👍🏻👍🏻)

It doesn’t affect UK folk but we can care about what is happening around the world. This is shocking info. Because the government in the US can’t agree on a budget people are not getting paid and others in poverty, including children, are going to suffer.

There’s also plenty of U.K. folk living here who are affected by it 👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻

It’s an insane system for a country that is a developed democracy.

Sorry didn’t even think of that.

And when hungry people start stealing and protesting, he will send the military in.

You can see where this is going, every step.

Oh and to sweeten the deal even more……the magic money that appeared for military pay checks on October 15th will be ok to cover November 1st…..but come November 15th there will be nothing else to re-allocate.

Sooooo best find myself a street corner in the dodgy end of town to make sure we can pay our rent in December 🫠👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
www.moaa.org/content/publications-and-media/news-articles/2025-news-articles/health-care-and-earned-benefits/what-the-shutdown-means-for-troops,-retirees,-veterans,-and-families/