ATLANTA — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Friday afternoon that making the funds available for November benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The USDA told states they were working to pay the food benefits in full for low-income Americans to comply with the federal judge’s order.
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The news comes amid a court battle over whether to distribute funding, after the Trump administration indicated they would first be only paying half of the benefits in response to a court order.
A follow-up court order required full payment, but earlier on Friday, the administration filed in court to appeal the decision.
Previously, President Donald Trump said SNAP payments would not be made until the government shutdown was over.
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“Later today, FNS will complete the processes necessary to make funds available to support your subsequent transmittal of full issuance files to your EBT processor,” a letter sent to states reads.
The federal agency said it would continue to provide updates as they become available and recommended state officials contact representatives from the Food and Nutrition Service office for further guidance.
In Georgia, roughly 1.4 million impoverished, elderly adults and children receive benefits from SNAP to afford food. Of those Georgians, roughly 500,000 are employed and working.
While the USDA said it would pay out the funds for SNAP, it was still unclear if benefits for a similar program for Women, Infants and Children would also be funded.
If WIC remains unaffected by payment decisions, Georgia officials have said it would run out of funding by the middle of November.
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