By Lindsey Byman / The Texas Tribune
Texans will start receiving full November SNAP benefits Friday, the state Health and Human Services Commission said, after two weeks of uncertainty about food assistance payments.
“SNAP clients who already received partial benefits will receive the rest of their monthly amount on or after Nov. 14,” according to updated HHSC guidance. “For SNAP clients who receive benefits on or after the 14th of the month, full benefits will be issued on their normal issuance date.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday ordered states to “take immediate steps to ensure households receive their full November allotments promptly.”
“The reduction in maximum allotments for November is no longer in effect,” the notice says.
More than 67,000 households in El Paso County receive SNAP benefits, state data shows.
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission had previously said it would take about three days for food benefits to reach Texans after the USDA issued guidance to states for distributing funds. When the federal agency ordered states last weekend to deliver partial SNAP benefits, the state got them to Texans in two days. Now, it said Texans will start getting benefits just one day after the state received a new directive.
The latest guidance comes a day after President Trump signed a budget bill to reopen the federal government, ending the longest shutdown in the country’s history and the only time benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program have paused since the program was created in 1964. The bill funds SNAP through September 2026, while budgets for other programs will expire in January.
The shutdown began Oct. 1 and dragged on as Democrats initially refused to support a budget bill unless Republicans negotiated an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies, which are set to expire at year’s end.
The USDA announced the SNAP benefits pause in October. All but 12 states stepped in to offer food assistance, including by funding food banks and providing direct financial aid to their SNAP beneficiaries. Texas was among the states that didn’t, and Gov. Greg Abbott drew criticism over his refusal to approve state funds.
Several court rulings ordered the Trump administration to tap emergency funds to support the program, and he finally agreed to use $4.65 billion to partially fund it.
LEARN MORE: How the government shutdown impacts El Paso SNAP beneficiaries
Some Texans received up to 65% of their typical monthly payments starting Monday, while others received only $16 for two people or no money at all.
The move ends weeks of uncertainty about if and when 3.5 million Texans, 1.7 of them children, would get food assistance. Texas food banks reported long lines as SNAP enrollees and federal workers stretched their budgets and prepared for the delay to continue.
“This shutdown reminded us of a sobering reality: countless Texans are just one unexpected emergency or missed paycheck away from needing help — whether from a food bank or with assistance from the SNAP,” Feeding Texas CEO Celia Cole said in a Thursday statement. “It also reinforced an important truth: SNAP remains the nation’s largest and most effective anti-hunger program.”
Disclosure: Feeding Texas has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism.
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.
The post Texans, including 67,000 El Paso households, to start receiving full SNAP benefits Friday appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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