A sign for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is displayed at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. (Photo courtesy of USDA)
One day after saying it would pay full food assistance benefits on time this month, the South Dakota Department of Social Services said Saturday it’s pausing that plan because of a U.S. Supreme Court decision.
The department is reacting to federal government shutdown-related chaos that took several twists and turns in the last few days.
The Trump administration had said the ongoing shutdown meant it could not pay November benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps 42 million Americans afford groceries. But a federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the Trump administration Thursday to pay roughly $9 billion for a full month of benefits by Friday.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture told states Friday it was releasing full November funding for SNAP. The South Dakota Department of Social Services responded with an announcement of its own, saying it would pay full benefits on Monday, which is the state’s regular date (the 10th day of the month) for loading money onto SNAP payment cards.
Then, on Friday night, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked the Thursday order from the lower court, which the Trump administration had appealed.
The South Dakota Department of Social Services reacted Saturday with a new announcement saying it “has paused implementation of its plan to provide full benefits to SNAP recipients by November 10.” The department said it’s awaiting further instruction from the USDA Food and Nutrition Service and will provide updates as they’re received.
It takes about $15 million of federal funding per month to pay the SNAP benefits of roughly 75,000 South Dakotans. The average South Dakota household in the program receives about $390 per month.
States Newsroom’s D.C. Bureau contributed to this report.
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