SNAP food aid will resume next week in North Carolina — with reduced benefits

North Carolinians enrolled in SNAP will not receive partial benefits until next week, the state health department said Tuesday.

Federal courts have ruled that the White House is required to distribute federal food aid under the program, despite the continuing government shutdown. The Trump administration has said it will send money to states to fund roughly half of payments, after previously pausing benefits Nov. 1, though remarks by the president Tuesday raised questions on whether they will continue to do so.

NC Department of Health and Human Services is “updating its payment system” this week, the department said Tuesday, and is expecting partial payments to be loaded onto EBT cards “by next week.”

“While we are encouraged by the decision to require the use of emergency funds, the fact that families will receive only partial benefits, is troubling,” NC DHHS Secretary Dev Sangvai said in a statement. “Food is foundational to health, dignity, and opportunity. We must focus on the people we serve and ensure that programs like SNAP are protected from further disruption.”

Around 1.4 million North Carolinians are enrolled in SNAP. At the beginning of November, more than 60% of participants had $25 or less on their EBT cards, according to the department. More than 30% had less than $1.

SNAP participants may not receive exactly half of their normal allotment, however; “the actual amount also depends on each household’s income,” the department said.

All October payments owed to new SNAP applicants will still be delivered in full.