Food aid benefits will resume partially in the United States, but with delays of weeks or even months expected for some states.
The food aid program known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was halted for the first time ever by the Trump administration last week, leaving millions of Americans with serious concerns about their ability to access groceries.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture made the announcement just days before people were due to receive their aid, which is paid to low-income or unemployed Americans on the first of each month, writing “bottom line, the well has run dry”.
This received immediate backlash, mostly from Democrats, with a coalition of Democratic led states launching two lawsuits for the USDA's emergency funds to be tapped into to fund SNAP.
Now, after a Rhode Island federal court judge ordered the Trump administration to do exactly that, the program will resume under partial federal funding but delays of up to several months have been forecast.
The plan to reinstate SNAP was laid out in a filing, where a Department official wrote that for some states it “will take anywhere from a few weeks to up to several months” for the changes in the system of reduced benefits to be implemented".
Several states have already taken matters into their own hands, seeking to fund SNAP themselves or with boosts to support foodbanks.
