Pennsylvanians who were supposed to get SNAP benefits this week, but didn’t because of the federal government shutdown and funding freezes, should see money on their cards by tonight or in the coming days, state officials said.
About $100 million in benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as SNAP, are being delivered to some of the 2 million Pennsylvanians in the program after a judge in Rhode Island ordered the Trump administration to issue full benefit payments starting this week.
The Trump administration has already filed an appeal, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture has told states it is working to comply with U.S. District Judge John McConnell’s order.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said the state Department of Human Services moved to immediately pull in federal program dollars in the last 24 hours and get them to participants who never received their benefits on or after Nov. 1.
“So, if you were one of those people that had a zero on your SNAP card cause you were supposed to get your benefits on the first of the month, go check it out,” Shapiro said Friday in Philadelphia. “Those dollars are flowing.”
Pennsylvanians can check their SNAP balances online or through a phone app.