$4.6 Billion in Dept of Ag Contingency Funds Will Fund Roughly Half of November Snap Benefits

November 3, 2025 – The White House confirmed Monday that even with billions of dollars shifted within the government, funding will cover only about half of November’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, leaving millions of Americans uncertain about their next meal.

42 million people use SNAP benefits, or about 1-in-8 people in America, and that the program cost taxpayers just over $100 billion last year.

Administration officials said at least $4 billion in additional funds would be needed to fully sustain food stamp payments for November. In a filing signed by Agriculture Department Under Secretary Patrick Penn, the administration said it considered diverting money from the USDA’s Section 32 funds, but determined that those reserves “must remain available to protect full operation of Child Nutrition Programs throughout the fiscal year.”

Nationwide, approximately 1.465 million non-citizens received SNAP benefits in FY 2022.

“Section 32 Child Nutrition Program funds are not a contingency fund for SNAP,” the filing stated, warning that tapping them would create “an unprecedented gap in Child Nutrition funding that Congress has never had to fill.”

Officials added that even with existing contingency funds, there will be no resources left for new SNAP applicants, emergency food assistance, or any cushion against a full program shutdown.