Tag: poverty

Nothing says ‘Veterans Day’ than military families in a food line

According to reports at Military.com, which as a staple covers the daily lives and military families living on and off bases across the United States, thousands of military families are seeking food assistance due to the government shutdown, which is the longest in American history.

The shutdown reached a breakthrough on Monday night, as the Senate voted on a compromise bill to reopen the government. The measure must go now to the Republican controlled House and faces an uncertain future there.

In the meantime, it’s Veterans Day, which is typically marked by parades and school-based tributes throughout the country, but on military bases, apparently, it is passing amid consternation and stress, as servicemembers and their families face a month without pay.

The impact of the longest government shutdown in history, which as of Monday surpassed 40 days but potentially could reopen this week due to Senate Democrats reaching across the aisle, is hitting military families in every branch, state and pay grade.

Families that live paycheck to paycheck are asking for food, gas and diapers. National Guard and Reserve troops are struggling because canceled drills mean no pay. Nonprofits are shipping emergency groceries to keep cupboards from going empty. A previous Military.com report warned that troops may soon miss paychecks if the shutdown is not resolved.

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Trump administration demands states ‘undo’ full SNAP payouts as states warn of ‘catastrophic impact’

President Donald Trump’s administration is demanding states “undo” full SNAP benefits paid out under judges’ orders last week, now that the U.S. Supreme Court has stayed those rulings, marking the latest swing in a seesawing legal battle over the anti-hunger program used by 42 million Americans.

The demand from the U.S. Department of Agriculture came as more than two dozen states warned of “catastrophic operational disruptions” if the Trump administration does not reimburse them for those SNAP benefits they authorized before the Supreme Court’s stay.

Nonprofits and Democratic attorneys general sued to force the Trump administration to maintain the program in November despite the ongoing government shutdown. They won the favorable rulings last week, leading to the swift release of benefits to millions in several states, and the Trump administration belatedly said the program could continue.

On Friday night, however, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson temporarily paused the two rulings ordering the SNAP disbursement while the nation’s highest court considered the Trump administration’s appeal. That led the Department of Agriculture on Saturday to write state SNAP directors to warn them it now considers payments under the prior orders “unauthorized.”

States could face penalties for paying benefits

“To the extent States sent full SNAP payment files for November 2025, this was unauthorized,” Patrick Penn, deputy undersecretary of Agriculture, wrote to state SNAP directors. “Accordingly, States must immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025.”

Penn warned that states could face penalties if they did not comply. It was unclear if the directive applies to states that used their own funds to keep the program alive or to ones relying on federal money entirely. The Department of Agriculture did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a filing in federal court on Sunday, the agency said states moved too quickly and erroneously released full money SNAP Benefits after last week’s rulings.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, a Republican, on Sunday called the directive “shocking” if it applies to states, like hers, that used their own money to prop up the program.

“It’s one thing if the federal government is going to continue its level of appeal through the courts to say, no, this can’t be done,” Murkowski said. “But when you are telling the states that have said this is a significant enough issue in our state, we’re going to find resources, backfill or front load, whatever term you want, to help our people, those states should not be penalized.”

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The Shutdown’s Fallout Spreads Further

The U.S. government shutdown has entered its 39th day, making it the longest funding gap in U.S. history.

The consequences of the standstill are far-reaching, with food benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, having already come to a halt at the weekend. While a judge has ordered the Trump administration to release full funding for November food stamps by the end of today, the administration asked an appeals court to block the ruling. Meanwhile, around 1.4 million federal employees are on unpaid leave or working without pay until funding is restored and 10 percent of flights at 40 major U.S. airports have been cut amid air traffic control safety concerns. Trump has responded to these events by calling for Republicans to abolish the Senate filibuster rule that requires the 60-vote majority for legislation to pass.

As Statista’s Anna Fleck details below, a recent wave of surveys by polling company YouGov illustrates how the number of adults who feel they are personally being affected by the shutdown is growing.

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What to Know About Rising SNAP Fraud Claims

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has raised significant fraud concerns, according to the Department of Agriculture, which administers the program. 

In a recent interview with Fox News, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins called the food stamps program “broken and corrupt.”

This assessment came more than a month into the government shutdown that threatened to cut off SNAP benefits entirely. 

Rollins noted “massive fraud” uncovered by her agency and said she believes benefits should be reevaluated. 

Here’s what we know about fraud in the SNAP program. 

How SNAP Is Supposed to Work

Established in 1939, the SNAP program, also known as food stamps, is a federal nutrition assistance program that supplements the grocery budgets of low-income Americans.

It is administered at the federal level by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and at the local level by state agencies that interface with applicants.

SNAP is the largest federal nutrition program in the United States, which served around 41.7 million people and cost the government nearly $100 billion in 2024.

More than 261,000 stores participate in the program, which allows eligible individuals to purchase certain foods with an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card. 

The amount of funds added to the card depends on the household’s financial situation and the number of dependents.

According to the USDA, in 2024, the average benefit per person was approximately $187 per month, and just over 12 percent of Americans received SNAP benefits.

Unlike other nutrition programs, such as Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) or child-targeted nutrition programs, SNAP is not limited to a specific group. 

As of 2023, adults aged 18 to 59 accounted for nearly 42 percent of participants, while children aged 17 and under accounted for about 39 percent. Adults aged 60 and above accounted for 19.5 percent of the program. 

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Supreme Court Issues Emergency Order Temporarily Blocking Full SNAP Payments

The Supreme Court has issued an emergency order blocking SNAP funding amid the ongoing Schumer Shutdown.

Here’s more from the Associated Press:

The Supreme Court on Friday granted the Trump administration’s emergency appeal to temporarily block a court order to fully fund SNAP food aid payments amid the government shutdown, even though residents in some states already have received the funds.

A judge had given the Republican administration until Friday to make the payments through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. But the administration asked an appeals court to suspend any court orders requiring it to spend more money than is available in a contingency fund, and instead allow it to continue with planned partial SNAP payments for the month.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued the ruling, putting a temporary stay on an earlier order issued by a Rhode Island judge that required the Trump administration to disburse the full SNAP payment amount in the month of November.

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Vance Blasts Court Order to Fund SNAP as ‘Absurd’

Vice President JD Vance on Thursday slammed a federal court ruling requiring the Trump administration to fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for November, calling the decision “absurd” and an overreach during a government shutdown.

“It’s an absurd ruling because you have a federal judge effectively telling us what we have to do in the middle of a Democrat government shutdown,” Vance said during a roundtable with Central Asian leaders at the White House.

Vance said the administration wants to restore full funding once Democrats agree to reopen the government, but argued that the court should not dictate how the administration prioritizes spending during a shutdown.

“What we’d like to do is for the Democrats to open up the government, of course,” he said.

“Then we can fund SNAP, and we can also do a lot of other good things for the American people.

“But in the midst of a shutdown, we can’t have a federal court telling the president how he has to triage the situation,” Vance said.

U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr. ruled earlier Thursday that the administration’s plan to issue partial payments failed to comply with his earlier order.

The Justice Department said it will appeal the ruling, leaving the fate of SNAP benefits for millions of Americans uncertain.

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Trump Admin Must Fully Fund Food Stamps for November: Judge

The Trump administration must pay the approximately $9 billion to fully fund food stamps for November, a federal judge ruled on Nov. 6.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) must pay states the money by Nov. 7 to distribute to the approximately 42 million Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants, according to an oral order from Judge John McConnell Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island.

“People have gone without for too long. Not making payments to them for even another day is simply unacceptable,” McConnell said.

USDA officials had declined to fund SNAP amid the government shutdown, arguing that they could not use contingency money or revenue from tariffs. McConnell, in response to a lawsuit, recently said that the administration could either partially fund November benefits with contingency money or fully fund benefits for the month with that money and the tariff revenue.

“If the Government does want to use its discretion to use funds available to make a full payment of SNAP benefits for November 6, then it must 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, November 5,” McConnell wrote in a temporary restraining order on Nov. 1.

The government chose to partially fund the November benefits using the contingency fund, which it said contained $4.6 billion. The government stated that it would not use the tariff revenue, or Section 32 funds, because if it were to, then child nutrition programs funded by that revenue might eventually run out of money.

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SNAP Recipients Will Receive More Food Stamps Than Initially Estimated: Filings

Food stamp recipients will receive up to 65 percent of their normal benefits in November, Trump administration officials said in court filings on Nov. 5.

That’s an increase from up to 50 percent that was outlined in previous filings, as well as a memorandum sent to states.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in the Nov. 4 memorandum that it was reducing the maximum benefit households participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) can receive to 50 percent of the current maximum allotment.

“Since that time, USDA performed further analysis and determined that the maximum allotments need only be reduced by 35%, instead of 50%, to deplete the SNAP contingency fund, and has issued a revised memorandum and allotment tables to State agencies,” Patrick Penn, a USDA deputy undersecretary, told the federal court in Rhode Island.

The revised memo, distributed on Nov. 5, said that maximum benefits will be 65 percent of the typical maximum benefits.

Trump administration lawyers in a separate filing described what happened as an error and said it worked to issue accurate information as soon as the error was discovered.

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Food Banks across the Country are being overwhelmed by a tsunami of hungry people

As grocery prices have risen, demand at food banks throughout the country has surged to very alarming levels. At the end of 2024, I wrote about how demand at food banks had risen to record levels all over the United States.

Unfortunately, demand has continued to rise in 2025, and now the government shutdown has shifted America’s hunger crisis into overdrive. Millions of very hungry people are showing up at food banks looking for something to eat, and resources are being stretched to the limit.

There is no area of the nation that is not being affected by this crisis. For example, it is being reported that food banks in Iowa are experiencing “record demand” during this government shutdown…

Food pantries across Iowa are seeing record demand as families wait for the federal government to restore their food assistance benefits.

So what does “record demand” look like? Well, at one food bank in Iowa they are serving about twice as many people as usual…

While families wait, many are turning to food pantries for help. At WayPoint Resources in Waukee, the line for food stretched out the door Monday.

“We just opened at noon today. And already in that first hour, we saw double the number of people that we normally see,” said Melissa Stimple, the center’s executive director.

We are seeing similar things happen in other parts of the nation too. In southwest Texas, one network of food banks is now serving nearly 170,000 people per week…

Eric Cooper, president and CEO of San Antonio Food Bank, which serves 29 counties in southwest Texas, said the number of families seeking help has increased since it was first announced that there would be a disruption in SNAP benefits should the government shutdown continue.

Cooper said San Antonio Food Bank, which is part of the nonprofit organization Feeding America, typically feeds 105,000 to 120,000 people per week but is now seeing close to 170,000 people per week.

When you suddenly go from serving 120,000 people per week to serving 170,000 people per week, it is going to be very difficult to have enough food for everyone.

Often those at the end of food bank lines end up with nothing, and that is why so many people are lining up early. On Monday, the line at one Bay Area food bank “stretched all the way down the sidewalk”…

On Monday, in a parking lot of Contra Costa College in San Pablo, the line for food stretched all the way down the sidewalk.

“We’re expecting at least 500 families to come out to our distribution,” said program coordinator Geo Dinoso. When he opened the food line, the crowd was a little hard to believe, but for Dinoso, not very surprising.

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Hawaii Has The Highest Homelessness Rate In America, Mississippi The Lowest

There are around 772,000 homeless Americans (nearly 230 for ever 100,000 Americans), according to the last time a point-in-count assessment was done in 2024.

In this visualization, Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao, take a look at the highest homelessness rates by state, measured per 100,000 residents.

The data for this visualization comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, paired with 2024 population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.

⚠️ Caveats: Point-in-time counts were conducted in January, 2024 by local Continuums of Care (CoCs), with latitude in methodology. They risk undercounting unsheltered populations, people couch‑surfing, or those avoiding contact.

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