What 1.4M Michigan residents should know about looming November pause in SNAP benefits

Charles Murphy, a jewelry maker from Detroit, looks for food items inside the Capuchin Soup Kitchen in Detroit on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (USA TODAY Network)

By USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

October 31, 2025

About 1.4 million Michiganders could see their food assistance benefits cut off in November if the federal government shutdown continues.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has informed Michigan and other states it intends to pause food assistance payments under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, after Nov. 1.

Here’s what to know:

What is SNAP?

SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, is a federal program that provides benefits to low-income families to help afford food. The program is regarded as the largest anti-hunger program in the country. As of May 2025, SNAP had nearly 42 million participants across the country. In Michigan, roughly 13% of households, receive the benefits. Most people in the program are children, older adults and people with disabilities.

More than a third of SNAP households in Michigan have older adults while nearly half include children. According to MDHHS, 492,225 children benefit from the food assistance. In the 2024 fiscal year, the average Michigan household receiving SNAP benefits got about $335 a month, which breaks down to $173 per person a month, or $5.68 for each person a day. On the business front, more than 9,700 retailers accept SNAP, allowing them to redeem more than $3.6 billion in 2023 alone.

Eligibility for SNAP benefits is based on income, expenses and assets and household size. The benefits are administered by the federal government, but states determine eligibility and issue benefits. The food assistance benefits are provided on electronic benefit transfer, or EBT, cards that people can use to buy food at grocery stores and other retailers.

Why are SNAP benefits pausing?

The state received word from the federal government that there may be a delay in SNAP benefits next month because of the federal government’s shutdown, nearing a month if nothing changes.

The federal government has been shut down since funding lapsed at midnight on Oct. 1. Republicans have said they want a short-term funding agreement; Democrats say they want Congress to extend health care subsidies, set to expire Dec. 31, for plans under the Affordable Care Act. Without that extension, premiums for those plans will increase.

When will benefits stop and for how long?

MDHHS said in an Oct. 23 news release that the federal government directed the state department to “hold November SNAP issuance and ongoing benefits until further notice.” A banner on the USDA’s website reads: “At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01.”

In an FAQ about the pause, MDHHS said that the delay is only expected to hit November benefits and that the department is monitoring the situation.

What about current benefits?

People can still use existing SNAP benefits on EBT cards from prior months, according to MDHHS.

What will happen to November benefits if the shutdown ends?

In its FAQ, the state health and human services department said once the federal government “notifies MDHHS that we are legally allowed to release November SNAP benefits, they will be loaded onto” recipients’ EBT cards.

Is Michigan still processing SNAP redeterminations?

Yes, MDHHS said on its website that its specialists are continuing to process redeterminations and case changes.

Isn’t there a contingency fund to pay for SNAP?

There is funding that has been allocated through federal appropriations bills in previous years that is believed to total about $6 billion. Democrats and their allies say that money could be used — and may be legally required to be used — to cover SNAP benefits during a lapse. That $6 billion would cover less than a month’s worth of benefits. But the USDA says just the opposite, that it legally can only use those funds to supplement benefits when demand outstrips funding with a federal appropriation is in place. Since the most recent appropriation bill lapsed Oct. 1 — hence the shutdown — USDA says it can’t use the money for that purpose. The agency also says that when the government reopens, it can’t reimburse the state if it pays for SNAP out of its own funds (though if Congress gave the USDA money and instructed it to reimburse states, it likely would).

What is the state doing?

The state receives on average $260 million a month from the federal government for the nearly 1.4 million Michigan SNAP beneficiaries, according to State Budget Office Director of Communications Lauren Leeds.

Lawmakers in the Michigan Senate passed a supplemental spending measure to provide $50 million Oct. 30 for MDHHS for emergency food assistance funding “to raise the food-purchasing power of low-income individuals and households.” It passed on a 27-4 vote. It heads to the Michigan House next for consideration.

Democrats in the Michigan House of Representatives also have their own plan to use state funding to maintain food assistance benefits. Under legislation from Michigan House Democrats, an emergency supplemental spending measure would appropriate $600 million in state funding for SNAP benefits. The funds would come from previously funded state projects that have lapsed. Also, two separate bills would provide an additional $12.5 million to the Food Bank Council of America and food pantry programs, respectively from the General Fund, the state’s largest pot of discretionary funding.

It’s not clear whether the proposed SNAP spending plan will make its way to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for her signature. Republicans hold a majority in the Michigan House while Democrats control the Michigan Senate. Whitmer Press Secretary Stacey LaRouche has not provided comment when asked whether the governor supports a supplemental spending measure to fund SNAP with state dollars during the federal government shutdown.

Meanwhile, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced in a news release Oct. 30, that State Budget Office Director Jen Flood directed MDHHS to provide $4.5 million to the Food Bank Council of Michigan, a statewide organization that aims to relieve hunger.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined a multistate lawsuit suing the Trump administration over the potential SNAP cut off due to the shutdown.

Will Head Start program meals be impacted by the SNAP pause?

No. SNAP funding and funding for free breakfast, lunch and snack in Head Start programs come from separate places, so the SNAP benefits pause will not impact children’s foods needs while they are in Head Start programming during the day, said Jennifer Jonika, executive director at Starfish Family Services, a Head Start provider in Metro Detroit.

However, the shutdown could hit Head Start programs in other ways. The funding date for nine of Michigan’s 48 Head Start programs is coming up on Nov. 1. If the federal shutdown rolls into November and these programs don’t get paid on Nov. 1, some of those programs will be forced to close temporarily until they receive their federal funding.

How can people get help?

Food pantries: To find area food pantries and other resources, go to www.fbcmich.org/food-bank-network; pantrynet.org; www.forgottenharvest.org/find-food, or call the Michigan 211 line. Call locations ahead to confirm availibility, hours and location.

Doubling produce purchases:The Fair Food Network’s Double Up Food Bucks program, which matches purchases of fruits and vegetables using food assistance benefits up to $20 a day, has lifted the cap amid the looming pause of a federal program. Previously, shoppers could buy fresh fruits and vegetables from participating locations, up to $20 daily, and get matched dollar for dollar to double their purchasing power. Now, the match limit is unlimited.

The Fair Food Network has also lifted a 90-day limit for shoppers to use their Double Up Food Bucks meaning there’s no expiration. Additionally, shoppers can now use their Double Up Bucks to buy frozen fruits and vegetables without added sugar, salt and oil.

The Fair Food Network also announced a separate voucher, called Double Up Bonus Bucks, which offers $40 to buy frozen fruits and vegetables at participating locations and does not require a matching SNAP purchase. The Double Up Bonus Bucks expire Dec. 31.

For more information about the Double Up Food Bucks program, go to doubleupfoodbucks.org. Call the program’s hotline at 866-586-2796 (9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday) for questions. Find a participating location at DoubleUpFoodBucks.org/find-a-location.

What do food banks and pantries need?

Charitable organizations and the federal food benefits program are part of the safety net working to catch vulnerable families struggling to make ends meet and living paycheck to paycheck. The SNAP pause knocks down an important pillar of that system, adding pressure onto the state’s already squeezed food banks and pantries, agency leaders told the Free Press.

The Detroit-based Capuchin Services Center, for instance, already sees more than 3,000 families in a month coming in for food. That number could increase to 5,000. Over in Troy at the United Community Family Services calls to sign up for the food pantry had spiked even before the news of the pause was official. And resources are already “stretched thin” for Forgotten Harvest, according to Chris Ivey, chief marketing and communications officer for the Oak Park-based food rescue nonprofit. Expenses have gone up in the past few years and it’s essentially costing more to do the same business. Kristin Sokul, senior director of advancement communications for Gleaners Community Food Bank, said the organization plans to be responsive and buy more food, but the “longer resources are unavailable, the greater the influx of need.”

Here’s how to help:

The Capuchin Services Center accepts non-perishable food items. For more information, go to www.cskdetroit.org/en/donate/donate-items/.
The United Community Family Services is taking monetary donations because that allows the nonprofit to purchase bulk items. Go to ucfamilyservices.org/.
Rutth Markarian, who has been running the Oak Park Gifting Pantry outside at 23400 Seneca in Oak Park, recently posted the need for more nonperishable food donations, including breakfast type-dishes side dishes, cereals, pancake mixes, syrup, canned meats and powdered milk. Go to: www.facebook.com/OakParkGiftingPantry/
Forgotten Harvest’s most pressing need is funding to buy more food to keep up with the anticipated increase in demand. To donate, go to www.forgottenharvest.org/donate/.
Monetary donations will help Gleaners Community Food Bank best address urgent need. To donate, go to www.gcfb.org.
SHARE Detroit, an organization that supports metro Detroit nonprofits, has compiled a round up of volunteer opportunities. For more information, go to https://sharedetroit.org/snap.