The ongoing government shutdown, often referred to as the “Schumer Shutdown,” has reached its 34th day. This has resulted in the third day without funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), leaving millions of Americans who depend on this program scrambling to provide for their families. Senate Democrats are firmly holding their ground, refusing to authorize government funding, which has exacerbated the situation for those reliant on SNAP.

In the face of this crisis, communities across the nation are stepping up to support those affected. As highlighted by Jennifer Oliver O’Connell in her recent column on RedState, citizens are coming together in remarkable ways. Churches have increased their food pantry services, and local families are organizing food drives to replenish supplies, demonstrating the strength and unity of American communities in difficult times.

READ MORE: Bessent Suggests SNAP Assistance ‘Might Be’ on the Horizon as Democrats Prioritize Politics Over People

Feel-Good Friday: Americans Unite to Support Neighbors Amid Government Shutdown

In a development that offers a glimmer of hope, the Trump administration has announced a plan to partially restore SNAP benefits. On Monday, government officials informed a Federal judge in Rhode Island of their intention to use billions in contingency funds to provide some SNAP recipients with a portion of their typical benefits for November, even as the shutdown persists.

But, it now seems that SNAP may be making at least a partial comeback even as the shutdown drags on. The Trump administration told a Federal judge in Rhode Island Monday that it would use billions of dollars in contingency funds to pay some SNAP recipients a portion of their normal benefits for the month of November.

Trump administration agrees to partially fund SNAP despite government shutdown pic.twitter.com/RW0hKW1mok

— New York Post (@nypost) November 3, 2025

The move comes in response to Rhode Island District Court Judge John McConnell’s Saturday order giving the Trump administration two options when it comes to SNAP: full payments by Monday or partial payments by Wednesday. Specifically, McConnell suggested the administration “make a partial payment of the total amount of the contingency fund and … expeditiously resolve the administrative and clerical burdens it described in its papers, but under no circumstances shall the partial payments be made later than Wednesday.”

In its filing, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which administers SNAP, told McConnell it “will fulfill its obligation to expend the full amount of SNAP contingency funds today by generating the table required for States to calculate the benefits available for each eligible household in that State.”

“Per orders issued by the United States District Courts for the Districts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, FNS [Food and Nutrition Service] intends to deplete SNAP contingency funds completely and provide reduced SNAP benefits for November 2025,” a Department of Agriculture official attested in court documents.

RedState’s resident legal eagle, Susie Moore, did a nice rundown of the two SNAP-related cases that were making their way through the Federal court system, one of which prompted today’s filing by the USDA. In short, two different Federal judges on Friday ordered the Trump administration to use contingency funds to issue SNAP benefits, which ran out of funds on November 1. It’s estimated that providing full funding for SNAP this month would cost at least $9 billion. 

RELATED: Ted Cruz Has a Good Guess As to When the Schumer Shutdown Is Likely to End, and Why

SNAP Judgments: How the Program Can Be Reformed (VIP)

While the exact details of how SNAP will be funded for November are still unclear, the program does have around $6 billion in contingency funds that are held for things like hurricanes or other natural disasters that could lead to food shortages. That’s not enough to cover a full month of benefits for all recipients, so it’s likely that amounts of aid will be cut or certain participants will not be eligible. 

Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.

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