(NEXSTAR) – The 42 million Americans who rely on food assistance to afford groceries are getting a better idea of how big (or how small) their benefits will be in November when they are eventually issued.
The Trump administration announced Monday that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, would be partially funded in November following two judges’ orders to use an emergency fund to keep aid flowing. (Benefits could still take weeks or even months to reach people, officials warn.)
Once payments are issued, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP, is warning people to expect about 50% of their usual monthly benefits. The emergency fund the government is tapping into isn’t big enough to cover 100% of benefits, the agency said.
For November, the changes to maximum benefits for people in the 48 contiguous U.S. states and Washington, D.C., are:
| Household size | Maximum benefit in a normal month | Maximum benefit in November 2025 |
| 1 | $298 | $149 |
| 2 | $546 | $273 |
| 3 | $785 | $392 |
| 4 | $994 | $497 |
| 5 | $1,183 | $591 |
| 6 | $1,421 | $710 |
| 7 | $1,571 | $785 |
| 8 | $1,789 | $894 |
| Each additional person | $218 | $109 |
Maximum payments are higher in Hawaii, Alaska, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands because food costs there are typically higher. SNAP beneficiaries in these states and territories can still expect 50% of the usual allotment.
Not every SNAP beneficiary will receive the maximum amount shown in the table above. Each household’s allotment depends on income, assets, the number of dependents and other factors.
Generally speaking, SNAP households are expected to spend about 30% of their own income on food. For a rough calculation of how big your SNAP benefits will be in November, you can multiply your net monthly income by 0.3 and then subtract that number from the maximum allotment in the table above.
The minimum payment in November will be $12 for a household of one or two people in the 48 contiguous states and D.C. The minimum is $20 in Hawaii and between $15 and $24 in Alaska.
When will November SNAP payments be issued?
Five days into November, SNAP benefits are already delayed for millions of people. Once the funds are freed up, it will take time to reload EBT (electronic benefit transfer) cards, the debit cards beneficiaries use to buy groceries. The reloading process takes up to two weeks in some states.
The USDA also warned in a court filing that it could take weeks or even months for states to make all the system changes needed to send out reduced benefits.
The picture is further complicated by the states’ patchwork response to the lack of funding. While SNAP is federally funded, it’s administered at the state and local level, and every state is doing things a little differently as the government shutdown drags on.
While some states, like New Mexico and Virginia, have tapped into their own emergency funds to reload EBT cards, others are waiting for the federal government to act. Many states are boosting donations to food banks, but aren’t yet giving people direct payments.
Nexstar contacted the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service department for an update on November SNAP benefits, but did not hear back.
Source: Fox 8 News Channel