Harrisburg, PA – Today, Governor Josh Shapiro took legal action to demand the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) use billions of dollars in available, Congressionally-appropriated contingency funding to pay Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for November amid the ongoing federal government shutdown and ensure nearly two million Pennsylvanians receive the critical food assistance they need to feed themselves and their families.
Governor Shapiro joined a coalition of 25 states and the District of Columbia in suing the Trump Administration for unlawfully suspending SNAP. The lawsuit argues that while normal appropriations for SNAP have lapsed because Republicans in Washington — who control both Congress and the White House — failed to pass a federal budget, alternative funds do exist and must be used to fund the program. In Pennsylvania last year, approximately 714,000 children and 697,000 seniors relied on SNAP every month.
“For the first time since the program began in 1964, SNAP payments have been halted across the country because the Trump Administration has decided to use critical food assistance as a political bargaining chip,” said Governor Shapiro. “That is unacceptable, especially when the USDA has billions of dollars in Congressionally-appropriated contingency funding on hand to fund SNAP and ensure millions of people don’t go hungry. Republicans in Washington need to come to the table and reopen the federal government — but in the meantime, I’m taking legal action to demand that the Trump Administration continue SNAP payments that nearly two million Pennsylvanians rely on to feed themselves and their families.”
Earlier this month, the USDA directed the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) and other states to pause November SNAP benefits due to the federal shutdown. Pennsylvania complied, and alerted the public to the pause in benefits on October 20, citing a lack of federal funding. Then, last week, the USDA formally suspended November benefits.
Prior to the shutdown, however, on September 30, the USDA’s own contingency plan for SNAP acknowledged the existence of nearly $6 billion in “multi-year contingency funds that can be used for State Administrative Expenses to ensure that the State can also continue operations during a Federal Government shutdown.” That contingency plan, previously available here on the USDA website, has since been deleted, with the USDA conceding Friday in a memo it won’t follow its own contingency plan to feed 42 million Americans who receive monthly payments.
SNAP benefits are fully funded by the federal government and supplement the food budget of low-income families so they can purchase healthy food. Each month, Pennsylvanians receive more than $366 million from the federal government in SNAP benefits. In 2024, an average of 2,025,387 Pennsylvanians received SNAP each month, including 713,811 children and 697,001 older adults. More than $4.3 billion in SNAP benefits were issued over the course of state fiscal year 2024.
Today’s lawsuit is the latest action from the Shapiro Administration to make sure the federal government upholds its commitment to feeding Pennsylvanians. Earlier this year, the Administration took action to defend Pennsylvania farmers when the federal government unlawfully terminated the $13 million Local Food Purchasing Assistance (LFPA) Program, which supports 189 Pennsylvania farms and 14 local food banks. A ruling in that case is still pending.
The pause in SNAP benefits will only worsen an already dire situation for Pennsylvania’s charitable food network.
“Despite the efficiency and resilience of Pennsylvania’s charitable food network, resources were already insufficient to address hunger in the Commonwealth. Cancelled TEFAP orders and the loss of $13 million in LFPA funding have further strained the system,” said Julie Bancroft, Feeding PA CEO. “Now, food banks are scrambling to do everything possible to meet the rising demand in their communities when SNAP payments are halted, and two million Pennsylvanians will turn to food banks for support — they simply cannot fill the gap.”
A Vital Program for Pennsylvania’s Economy
Beyond the program’s critical health and food benefits, SNAP is also an economic driver for Pennsylvania’s local businesses. In Pennsylvania, more than 10,600 retailers, across 38,000 locations, accept SNAP benefits for food purchases. If millions of Pennsylvania residents are forced to cut back on food spending all at once, this will immediately and drastically affect the economic well-being of vendors, farmers, and stores across Pennsylvania. In September 2025 alone, DHS issued $354,038,245 in SNAP benefits. According to the USDA’s Economic Research Center, each $1 issued in SNAP benefits grew Pennsylvania’s economy by $1.54 through job retention, creation, and income for farms and other agricultural producers.
As we approach the holiday season, failure to issue SNAP benefits will lead to unprecedented reliance on already overwhelmed food banks, which simply cannot meet such a surge in demand. The federal government’s choice to not feed people will have lasting, long-term impacts on families, forcing them to scramble for alternatives, including possibly going into debt, skipping meals entirely, and/or exacerbating health conditions.
The lawsuit includes the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. The Governors of Kansas and Kentucky have also joined.
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