Two federal judges on Friday said the Trump administration must tap into contingency funds to make SNAP payments during the government shutdown.

A federal judge in Rhode Island on Friday blocked President Donald Trump's administration from suspending all food aid for millions of Americans amid the ongoing government

SNAP food assistance was set to lapse in November because of the government shutdown. But on Friday, a judge ordered that contingency funds be used to maintain the benefits.

U.S. grocers and food companies ranging from Walmart to Smithfield Foods are bracing for a dip in November sales if federal food aid benefits lapse for the first time due to the ongoing government shutdown.

In Pennsylvania, SNAP provides more than $366 million in benefits to about two million families, including 713,000 children.

Judges on Friday ordered the federal government to continue providing food assistance during the shutdown. But benefits will still most likely be interrupted.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) costs around $8 billion per month and helps approximately 42 million low- and no-income Americans buy food and other groceries. Preliminary data from the USDA shows the value of SNAP benefits sent out to recipients in May 2025 was $7,864,859,076—the latest month for which data is available.

President Donald Trump held a Great Gatsby-themed Halloween party at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Friday, just a few hours before funding for federal food assistance for millions of low-income Americans was set to lapse.

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to continue paying for food stamps during the federal shutdown. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, aids roughly 42 million people and was set to run out of funds on Saturday without intervention.

As 757,000 Oregonians face a lapse in their SNAP benefits, demand at food banks and other organizations is surging.

Mutual aid refers to reciprocal support networks of neighbors who promptly meet each other’s most pressing needs when existing systems fail to make them whole. They emphasize “solidarity” with each other as opposed to “charity” for another beneficiary.