Nov. 1, 2025 SNAP (aka Food Stamps) Payments Canceled as Federal Shutdown Continues

Staff report

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – October 27, 2025

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday that November Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits will not be issued on Nov. 1 because of the ongoing federal government shutdown, a move that could disrupt food aid for more than 41 million Americans. A USDA memo and notices posted on the agency’s Food and Nutrition Service website say the administration will not tap roughly $5 billion in contingency funds to keep benefits flowing during the lapse in appropriations.

The notices on USDA webpages also blame Senate Democrats for the impasse, asserting they “have now voted 12 times to not fund the food stamp program.” The posts state, “Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01.” USDA’s decision not to use emergency reserves leaves states without federal reimbursement if they try to front benefits on their own, according to the memo.

Republicans currently control the White House and hold majorities in both chambers of the 119th Congress, while the Supreme Court has a 6–3 conservative majority — an alignment that gives the GOP broad leverage over federal policy during the shutdown.

A lack of government food aid could lead to an. immediate strain on certain households and local charities, such as food banks, if payments halt this week. Reuters and Politico reported that USDA officials concluded it was too late to arrange partial payments for November, and that emergency funds should be reserved for natural disasters and other crises. Some states, such as California, have explored stopgap measures, though federal reimbursement is uncertain during the shutdown. Indiana apparently has no such program.

SNAP — once known as “food stamps” — traces its roots to a 1939 program that paired surplus farm commodities with aid to the poor as the country emerged from the Great Depression. The modern program was authorized by the Food Stamp Act of 1964 and expanded nationwide in the 1970s. Today it is the nation’s largest anti-hunger program.

Historical flashpoints show how food insecurity can spill into the streets. During World War I–era price spikes, thousands of women led New York City “food riots” in February 1917. Early in the Great Depression, cities from Minneapolis to Oklahoma City saw unrest and hunger marches as prices rose and jobs disappeared.

Some are talking about a K-shaped economy in the United States, and while well-to-do households see record gains on Wall Street, households at the bottom fall further behind.

The stakes of food policy in hard times have echoed well beyond U.S. history. In France, the phrase “let them eat cake” is widely — but inaccurately — attributed to Marie-Antoinette; historians say there’s no evidence she said it, and versions of the line appeared decades earlier. The story endures as shorthand for indifference to hunger amid crisis. Although the crisis in American now is artificially manufactured by politicians, and their wealthiest supporters who wanted big tax cuts at the expense of the working class. Similarly, like in revolutionary France, the ultra wealthy were asked to pay a bit more, but refused.

The shutdown began Oct. 1 after rival funding bills failed in the Senate. The USDA warning that benefits will not be issued Nov. 1 underscores the most immediate consequence for low-income families. Lawmakers in both parties have floated short-term fixes, but agency guidance indicates the window to prevent a lapse in November SNAP payments has largely closed without new appropriations.

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More history:

1) “The crisis is artificially manufactured by politicians and their wealthiest backers who wanted big tax cuts at the expense of the working class.”

• Shutdowns/debt-ceiling fights are political, not economic necessities. Brookings and the Harvard Kennedy School explain that shutdowns happen when Congress fails to pass funding; short shutdowns mostly signal political dysfunction, while longer ones do economic harm. CRS provides the formal mechanics showing they’re the result of funding gaps, not automatic economics.
• 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was skewed up the income ladder. Tax Policy Center’s original and follow-up analyses show higher-income households received larger average gains (as a share of income), while CBPP finds the top 1% see roughly triple the percentage income boost of middle-income households in 2025.
• Donor pressure for passing the tax cuts was real and on the record. Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) famously said, “My donors are basically saying, ‘Get it done or don’t ever call me again,’” reported by Business Insider, Axios and others; the Center for Public Integrity documents similar threats from mega-donors to withhold funds unless tax cuts passed.

2) “Like in revolutionary France, the ultra-wealthy were asked to pay more but refused.”

• Close historical parallel: In 1787–88, France’s finance minister Calonne proposed a broad land tax that would apply to privileged estates; the Assembly of Notables refused and demanded more transparency, helping derail reform. Resistance from the parlements (high courts) also blocked tax changes, contributing to the fiscal crisis that precipitated the Estates-General and the Revolution. (Different context and institutions, but the core point—that France’s elites resisted paying broader taxes—is well supported.)

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