The Saturday Morning Market, in St. Petersburg, Florida, on April 14, 2012. (Photo by Lance Cheung/USDA)

Following a late Friday emergency ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Trump administration has instructed states that authorized full November nutrition assistance benefits to return a portion, another unprecedented reversal for a program that helps 42 million people afford groceries.

A Saturday memo from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service said states should fund 65% of benefits for users of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, often called food stamps. 

Those that had authorized full payments in line with earlier administration guidance should “immediately undo” that action, according to the memo.

“To the extent States sent full SNAP payment files for November 2025, this was unauthorized,” the memo said. “Accordingly, States must immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025. Please advise the appropriate FNS Regional Office representative of steps taken to correct any actions taken that do not comply with this memorandum.”

President Donald Trump and top administration officials have said they cannot pay full SNAP benefits during the government shutdown that began Oct. 1 and instead, under court orders, are using a contingency fund to make partial payments.

Shutdown chaos surrounds SNAP

Saturday’s guidance from Patrick A. Penn, the department’s deputy under secretary for food, nutrition and consumer services, marked the latest turnaround in a chaotic few days for the agency, states that administer SNAP and the millions of Americans who depend on it to afford food.

Penn wrote that, in light of the Supreme Court’s order pausing lower court rulings that USDA must pay full November benefits, the administration was returning to its position that SNAP benefits should be funded at 65%. 

States — including Wisconsin and Kansas — that issued full benefits did so under a Friday memo, also signed by Penn, that said states should authorize full payments for SNAP, consistent with a Thursday ruling in federal court.

Kansas, Wisconsin, Oregon govs express dismay

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, in a late Friday statement expressed disappointment with the administration’s appeal to the Supreme Court and noted the state had authorized full payments earlier in the day for all eligible Kansans.

“These Kansans, most of them children, seniors or people with disabilities, were struggling to put food on their plates,” she said. “Why the President would petition the highest court to deny food to hungry children is beyond me. It does nothing to advance his political agenda. It does not hurt his perceived enemies. It only hurts our most vulnerable and our reputation around the globe.”

In a Sunday statement, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, flatly refused to try to claw back any authorized benefits. The state acted in compliance with a court order, he said.

“After we did so, the Trump Administration assured Wisconsin and other states that they were actively working to implement full SNAP benefits for November and would ‘complete the processes necessary to make funds available,’” he said. “They have failed to do so to date.”

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said her state will not comply.

“Oregon acted lawfully, given the federal court’s directive and the communications with the USDA, and my decision to ensure SNAP benefits went out quickly was in direct alignment with my food emergency declaration,” said Kotek, a Democrat. “I am disgusted that President Trump has the audacity to take taxpayers’ money away from them when they are in crisis. I have a question for the President: What would he prefer to spend the money on over groceries for people in need? This is ridiculous, immoral, and Oregon will fight this every step of the way.”

U.S. Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota, the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, said in a statement: “Let’s be clear about what this is —  the Trump administration is demanding that food assistance be taken away from the households that have already received it. They would rather go door to door, taking away people’s food, than do the right thing and fully fund SNAP for November so that struggling veterans, seniors, and children can keep food on the table. It is incomprehensible, incompetent and inconsistent with our values as Americans.” 

Court action

The earlier order, from U.S. District Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. in Rhode Island, told the department to use sources outside the contingency fund to make full November payments by Friday. The order was appealed to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

But Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, acting on behalf of the high court, granted the administration’s request for an emergency stay on Friday night, speeding up the process for what Jackson said would then be an “expeditious” decision by the appeals court but also changing things yet again.

No longer, for the moment, required by a court order to pay full November benefits, the administration instructed states in the Saturday memo to have the vendors that process payments to the electronic benefit transfer cards withhold part of the month’s allotment.

“States must not transmit full benefit issuance files to EBT processors,” Penn wrote. “Instead, States must continue to process and load the partial issuance files that reflect the 35 percent reduction of maximum allotments detailed in the November 5 guidance.”

Shutdown negotiations

SNAP funding has been a key issue during the shutdown. 

In a plan published Sept. 30, the USDA said it would continue to pay for the roughly $9 billion per month program through its contingency fund. The administration reversed itself 10 days later, telling states there would be no SNAP available for November.

A bipartisan U.S. Senate bill filed Sunday would end the shutdown. It includes provisions to fully fund SNAP, the contingency fund and the $23 billion children nutrition programs fund that may be a source of emergency funding for SNAP if the shutdown persists.

Kansas Reflector Editor in Chief Sherman Smith, Wisconsin Examiner Editor in Chief Ruth Conniff and Oregon Capital Chronicle Editor in Chief Julia Shumway  contributed to this report.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 9, 2024. (Photo by Jane Norman/States Newsroom)

The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked Friday night a lower court’s order that the Trump administration pay for a full month of food benefits, hours after some states began loading nutrition assistance funds on payment cards held by the 42 million Americans who use the program.

In a two-page filing, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson accepted the government’s request to pause a Thursday order from Rhode Island Chief U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell while a lower appeals court hears the case. 

His order Thursday compelled the U.S. Department of Agriculture to transfer funds from other programs to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, for November. The Trump administration had said the ongoing government shutdown meant it could not pay November SNAP benefits.

“The applicants assert that, without intervention from this Court, they will have to ‘transfer an estimated $4 billion by tonight’ to fund SNAP benefits through November,” Jackson, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, wrote. 

A stay is needed to reach an “expeditious resolution,” she wrote.

Jackson’s order froze SNAP payments to states that the USDA had appeared to authorize earlier Friday before the administration appealed to the high court.

It was unclear Friday night what effect that might have on individual recipients’ electronic benefit transfer, or EBT, cards. A press release earlier Friday from California Gov. Gavin Newsom said some Californians had begun to see full benefits on their cards, following an order from a lower court.

High court challenge 

In a Friday evening brief to the Supreme Court that followed a day of conflicting messages from the administration, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer said the high court should step in to protect the executive branch’s power from what he characterized as unprecedented overreach by McConnell.

By demanding that the USDA transfer money from a $23 billion fund for child nutrition programs to pay for November SNAP benefits, McConnell substituted his judgment for the agency’s, a violation of the constitutional separation-of-powers doctrine, Sauer argued. 

The department’s decision to pay for partial November benefits, by using the roughly $5 billion remaining in a contingency fund, rather than by paying about $9 billion for a full month of benefits, was its decision to make and not reviewable by courts, Sauer said.

“USDA reasonably determined that the best course was to combine partial SNAP payments with stable funding for Child Nutrition Programs—versus jeopardize the latter to guarantee full payments with the former,” Sauer wrote. “The district court would have done otherwise. But it had no legal basis to ‘substitute its own policy judgment for that of the agency.’”

Confusion in states 

The lower court order — as well a midday Friday letter from the USDA to state SNAP administrators — had also led to confusion among states who started to demand SNAP funds in a way Sauer compared to a bank run.

Several states announced full funding would be available and began sending money to beneficiaries.

Immediately after McConnell’s order was published, Wisconsin demanded “100% of SNAP benefits,” Sauer wrote. Even though the USDA system rejected the file, the private-sector processor of the payment “moved forward, resulting in Wisconsin currently overdrawing its letter of credit by $20 million,” he said.

Kansas made a similar move. And some California SNAP users received their full benefits, according to Sauer’s brief.

16 million children on SNAP

McConnell on Thursday had ruled the department’s decision to withhold SNAP benefits arbitrary and capricious — the standard for judicial review of an executive branch action. 

The $23 billion fund could spare the $4 billion needed to make November SNAP benefits whole and still maintain its intended purpose well beyond the month, so there was no need to maintain that fund at that level, he wrote.

Instead, the decision “predictably magnifies harm and undermines the very purpose of the program it administers,” McConnell wrote.

While federal agencies are due discretion from courts, such a “poor” use of decision-making power must be remedied, he said.

“Contrary to what the Defendants claim, 29 million children who participate in the Child Nutrition Program are not at risk of immediately going hungry in the event of a transfer,” he said. “Instead, SNAP recipients—16 million of whom are children—will go hungry if they do not receive their SNAP benefits this month.”

‘Starve Peter to feed Paul’

But Sauer responded that was not McConnell’s call to make. 

The trial judge’s ruling improperly assumed that Congress would eventually replenish the child nutrition program fund, but the USDA was within its right to take a more cautious approach toward protecting the child nutrition funding, said the solicitor general.

“It obviously was not unlawful for the agency to see things differently—and refuse to starve Peter to feed Paul, by gambling school lunches tomorrow in exchange for more SNAP money today,” he wrote. “Indeed, that sort of hard tradeoff is precisely the sort of decision that Congress committed to agency discretion and placed beyond the reach of judges.”

While the USDA had not denied that it was able to move money to different priorities after Congress had appropriated it, the government did not have to do so, Sauer said.

Allowing McConnell’s ruling to stand would invite a stampede to litigation, the government maintained.

“If allowed to stand, this decision will metastasize and sow further shutdown chaos,” Sauer said. “Every beneficiary of a federal program could run into court, point to an agency’s general discretion to prioritize funding, and claim that failing to prioritize their chosen program was arbitrary and capricious.”

Trump social media post

Sauer also said McConnell read too much into Trump’s social media post this week that threatened to withhold SNAP funding for the duration of the shutdowns.

McConnell cited in his order the post, in which Trump said SNAP benefits would “be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before!” showed the true purpose of the USDA move was political leverage.

Sauer said that was improper.

“The court below had no basis to transfer of billions of dollars from school lunches to its preferred program based on its tendentious view of ‘the administration’s true motivations.’”

In a statement, Skye Perryman, the president and CEO of Democracy Forward, an advocacy group that is leading the litigation to force SNAP payments, said the group would continue to work to “secure benefits for the American people”

“The Trump-Vance administration continues to attempt — over and over — to take food out of the hands of families, seniors, workers, and children,” Perryman said. “And every time they tried, the courts told them what the law already makes clear: they cannot. American families should not be used as political props in a shutdown that this White House manufactured.”

A sign in a convenience store in Hyattsville, Maryland, advertises that it accepts SNAP benefits. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)

According to Gov. Tony Evers’ administration, over 330,000 Wisconsin households were paid their November Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits by Friday morning. 

The release of the funds comes as the federal government shutdown entered day 38 on Friday; it’s the longest shutdown in American history.

The lapse in federal funding for SNAP, known as FoodShare in Wisconsin, took effect on Nov. 1 — leaving nearly 700,000 Wisconsinites, including 270,000 kids, without access to food assistance. Two court orders last week directed the Trump administration to pay SNAP benefits by a Wednesday deadline.

This week food banks across the state, including in Milwaukee, have seen a spike in need.

Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr., a federal judge in Rhode Island, ordered the Trump administration Thursday to pay the full month of food assistance benefits for November. McConnell said the Trump administration missed its chance to make partial payments after it failed to release funds by the deadline.

Shortly after the court decision was released, the Evers administration announced it was taking steps to get the funds out the door as soon as possible.

“My administration worked quickly to ensure these benefits could be released as soon as possible so that our kids, families, and seniors have access to basic food and groceries without one more day of delay,” Evers said in a statement Thursday evening. “But let’s be clear — it never should’ve come to this. Wisconsinites should’ve never been without food assistance, period, and they wouldn’t have been if President Trump and the Trump Administration had listened to me and so many who urged them to use all legal funds and levers to prevent millions of Americans from losing access to food and groceries.” 

The Evers administration said Friday morning that it used the same process it typically uses to process benefits, submitting information to its SNAP payment vendor, which processes payments to QUEST cards, a few hours after the court decision to ensure payments would go out as soon as possible. 

The funds became available to households at midnight. According to the administration, a total of about $104.4 million was issued for 337,137 households. It said the payments went out before the Trump administration requested that a federal appeals court block the order from McConnell on Friday morning. The emergency stay has not been granted as of Friday afternoon. 

The administration received notification from the federal Food and Nutrition Service on Friday morning that it was working to implement November benefits in accordance with the Thursday court order.

The Evers administration said it is still monitoring the situation for any issues that may arise related to processing last night’s payments. 

Evers said the actions of the Trump administration are “contemptible” and called on federal Republicans to work with Democrats to end the government shutdown. Last week, Evers had also declared a state of emergency due to the lapse in funding for food assistance, directing state agencies to do everything they could to support Wisconsinites.

“Wisconsinites simply cannot afford another month of Republican dysfunction in Washington,” Evers said. “It’s time for Republicans to get back to work and do the right thing by working across the aisle to end the federal government shutdown to ensure Wisconsinites continue to have access to basic needs, including affordable healthcare and food assistance, moving forward.”

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Gov. Tony Evers said Wisconsin is restoring benefits for nearly 700,000 Wisconsinites who receive federal food aid. 

The move means the Wisconsinites who rely on food assistance “will not have to wake up tomorrow worried about when or whether they are going to eat next,” Evers said in a Thursday evening statement.

Evers’ announcement came hours after a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as FoodShare in Wisconsin.

The federal government had halted November payments for the program amid the government shutdown. More recently, the administration opted to make partial payments under previous court orders last week. A Wednesday statement from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services said the partial payments could add delays because states had to calculate what reduced payments would look like for individuals and get that information to a vendor that distributes the funds.

On Friday morning, the Trump administration filed a motion with a federal appeals court asking for an emergency stay of the Thursday night court order.

Evers’ statement said the state Department of Health Services anticipates benefits would be available Friday morning to FoodShare recipients.

“My administration worked quickly to ensure these benefits could be released as soon as possible so that our kids, families, and seniors have access to basic food and groceries without one more day of delay,” Evers said in a statement. “But let’s be clear — it never should’ve come to this.”

Evers, a Democrat, said the Republican Trump administration should have “listened to (Evers) and so many who urged them to use all legal funds and levers to prevent millions of Americans from losing access to food and groceries.”

Evers spokesperson Britt Cudaback told WPR that the state is working to access “readily available federal funding, pursuant to the court’s order.” She said, as of Thursday night, the administration had submitted the necessary information to ensure residents can get their FoodShare benefits “as early as after midnight.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s announcement last month that benefits would be paused was a break from past precedent for the USDA, which had used emergency funds to pay SNAP benefits in previous government shutdowns. Wisconsin was part of a multistate lawsuit seeking to compel the USDA to continue funding the program. 

The lapse in benefits put pressure on Wisconsin recipients of the benefit, as well as food pantries and other service providers. On Thursday prior to the judge’s ruling and Evers’ announcement, the Milwaukee County Board approved $150,000 in assistance for the 234,000 people in that county who receive the benefits.

On Nov. 1, Evers declared a state of emergency and a period of “abnormal economic disruption” in response to the ongoing shutdown and potential lapse in federal food assistance. The executive order directed state agencies to take all necessary measures to prepare for a potential delay in FoodShare payments. It also directed the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to enforce prohibitions against price gouging.

Senate Republicans and Democrats have been deadlocked over a short-term federal funding bill since Oct. 1. Democrats, like U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, are demanding the bill include an extension of COVID-19 era Affordable Care Act enhanced tax credits. Without them, Democrats and Evers estimate ACA insurance premiums would spike significantly. Republicans in the Senate are demanding that Democrats vote on a “clean” funding bill. 

On Wednesday, Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johson called on his GOP colleagues to kill the Senate’s fillibuster rule, which requires 60 votes in order to pass certain legislation. With a 53-seat majority, Republicans can’t pass their funding bill without Democratic support. Johnson’s comments represent a flip from 2022 when he accused Democrats trying to kill the filibuster of wanting “absolute power.”

This story was originally published by WPR.

FoodShare assistance restored to Wisconsinites, Gov. Tony Evers says is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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The day before federal funding ran out for SNAP, the U.S. Agriculture Department warned retailers against giving discounts to recipients of the nation’s largest food assistance program.

“OFFERING DISCOUNTS OR SERVICES ONLY TO SNAP PAYING CUSTOMERS IS A SNAP VIOLATION UNLESS YOU HAVE A SNAP EQUAL TREATMENT WAIVER,” the Oct. 31 notice said.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps and called FoodShare in Wisconsin, provides food assistance for 42 million low-income people. 

Funding ran out because of the government shutdown, though the Agriculture Department said Nov. 3 it would provide partial SNAP funding for November.

Federal regulations state: “No retail food store may single out” SNAP recipients “for special treatment in any way.”

Some retailers offered discounts.

Retailers can apply for a waiver to offer SNAP discounts on healthier food purchases. SNAP cost $100 billion in 2024, 1.5% of the federal budget.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

• Associated Press: Judges order Trump administration to use emergency reserves for SNAP payments during the shutdown
• U.S. Agriculture Department: Reminder: SNAP-EBT Authorized Retailers Must Comply with the SNAP Equal Treatment Rule
• Wisconsin Watch: Do half the residents in one rural Wisconsin county receive food stamps?
• CBS News: Trump administration will use SNAP contingency fund to pay partial food stamp benefits
• U.S. Agriculture Department: Waiver Requests to Offer Incentives to SNAP Recipients at SNAP Authorized Stores
• Dane County Farmers Market: Instagram post on discounts

Did the federal government warn retailers not to give discounts to SNAP food stamp recipients? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Fawn Anderson of Eau Claire says she worked her whole life and never applied for food assistance until five months ago when she relocated after a “violent act through domestic violence” upended her life. She started receiving $263 per month, money she said she could count on during uncertain times.

“One of my only safety nets was to not worry about what I was going to be able to eat,” Anderson told WPR.

Now, Anderson is among more than 700,000 Wisconsinites left wondering whether they’ll get their November federal food assistance benefits amid the ongoing government shutdown.

“It’s been like a roller coaster of ups and downs of feeling hopeful and not knowing how to prepare,” Anderson said. 

Anderson volunteers with the Feed My People Food Bank distribution center in Eau Claire. She says she’d gotten multiple calls on Monday from people asking where they can get groceries.

When asked what she’d do if her SNAP benefits don’t come this month, she said she’d “hit the pantries.” Anderson said she’s fed up with politicians arguing when people could go hungry.

“It really shows that they don’t care about us,” said Anderson. 

Nationally, 42 million people get federal food assistance through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. In Wisconsin, the program is known as FoodShare.

A note on the USDA’s website Monday said “there will be no benefits issued November 01.” It blamed the disruption on Democrats in the U.S. Senate who have refused to support a stopgap federal funding bill that doesn’t include an extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits.

On Friday, two federal judges ordered the Trump administration to use contingency funds to keep SNAP benefits moving out the door. On Monday, the administration said partial payments would go to recipients, but didn’t say when. 

In Wisconsin, the state Department of Health Services administers food assistance, but a message on the agency’s website Monday noted the benefits are entirely federally funded.

“DHS is fighting to get November FoodShare benefits out to members,” read the DHS website. “However, benefits will continue to be delayed.”

‘I don’t know why they would take it away’

Clay McKee of Eau Claire has been experiencing homelessness for about a year. Just after noon on Monday, he was finishing his lunch at the Community Table, which provides free meals to anyone with no questions asked. He said he gets around $300 per month from FoodShare.

“I don’t know why they would take it away, and abruptly as well,” said McKee. “I think it’s inconsiderate, you know?”

McKee said he’s resourceful and if his food assistance doesn’t come in November, he’ll get by. But he worries about how others will fare.

“What if a pregnant woman needed food for their baby or something? And now all of a sudden … I hope at least those people you know can get their benefits,” McKee said.

McKee described the standoff in Congress as a “bull**** fight,” but said there are a lot of good people in Wisconsin who will step up and help those in need.

“People will make it,” McKee said. “Maybe we’ll go fishing more, or whatever the heck, you know?”

Lillian Santiago is a single mother who provides food for her seven children. Santiago, who lives in Milwaukee County, has used SNAP benefits on and off over the years. 

“I’ve had three jobs, and it (SNAP) still wasn’t enough to make ends meet,” Santiago said.

Santiago said the uncertainty around the program is leading her to worry about the coming weeks. 

“Paying cash out of pocket for food is — at this time with the economy and things — it’s really expensive,” Santiago said. “And especially when you’re a single parent, doing it on your own, it’s definitely a little struggle.”         

Milwaukee resident Donte Jones has been receiving SNAP benefits for years. Monday, he went to three food pantries to stock up on groceries amid the uncertainty surrounding the benefits.

“The economy out here, how they shut everything down and everybody have to worry about food,” Jones said while standing in line at the The House of Peace food pantry. “Thanksgiving coming up, Christmas coming up. It’s like, what’s going on?”

Jones said he usually gets around $250 in SNAP benefits every month. He’s worried about not receiving enough money from the program in November or December.

“That’s the irritating thing,” he said. “Trying to figure out how to keep food in our freezers.”

This story was originally published by WPR.

‘It really shows they don’t care about us’: Wisconsinites uncertain about November food aid is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

A sign in a grocery store indicates that SNAP benefits are accepted. Wisconsin's health department, which administers the state's FoodShare program funded through SNAP, said Tuesday November benefits will be reduced and could take weeks to be paid. (Getty Images)

Despite court orders for the federal government to resume sending federal funds to the states for food assistance programs for the month of November, the money will take weeks or longer to arrive and will only cover a portion of the benefits people are supposed to receive, Wisconsin’s health department confirmed Tuesday.

The delay is a result of the federal decision to spend only the contingency funds said aside for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP, according to a statement late Tuesday afternoon from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services communications office. DHS administers Wisconsin SNAP benefits through the state’s FoodShare program.

SNAP benefits stopped flowing Nov. 1 as a result of the federal government shutdown, which has halted federal spending in all but some specific functions of the government.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture declined to tap other funding sources in order to cover the full benefits for November, a department official said in a court document filed Monday.

About 700,000 Wisconsin residents receive SNAP benefits through the FoodShare program, according to DHS. Benefits are distributed to an electronic “QUEST” card that is used like a debit card to purchase food at participating grocers and other vendors.

According to DHS, because of the benefit reduction, states must recalculate the benefits they send to households enrolled in the SNAP program. States must then send an electronic file with the revised benefit information to the electronic benefit transfer businesses that distribute the funds to members’ QWEST cards.

“Due to the many steps that need to be taken as well as the likely bottleneck of only having two vendors that can deploy benefits to cards, the Trump Administration indicates this process will take weeks to months instead of days compared to the timeline if the federal government had chosen to provide full November benefits to states,” DHS said in an update sent to news organizations Tuesday afternoon.

“Because the federal government chose a more complex pathway, the federal government will need to issue guidance to states and then states will have to determine how to allocate partial benefits to each household,” the DHS update stated. “This means the timeline for partial November benefits to be added to [each] member’s cards is still to be determined.”

A provision in the federal mega-bill cutting spending and taxes that President Donald Trump signed July 4 will further complicate the process, according to DHS.

States with error rates of more than 6% in their SNAP programs will bear additional administrative costs. Paying partial benefits rather than full benefits “will force states to use an unprecedented process instead of the process we would typically use,” according to the DHS update, “which has the potential to jeopardize Wisconsin’s and other states’ error rates.”

DHS has asked the Legislature to allocate an additional $69.2 million to the department to cover anticipated increases in administrative costs and hire additional staff to help keep Wisconsin’s error rate low.

Tables that USDA distributed Tuesday indicate that in 48 states, including Wisconsin, the reduced November benefits will range from $149 a month for a one-person household to $497 for a four-person household and $894 for a household of eight. The DHS update noted that “we caution that the tables don’t necessarily reflect what a family would receive.”

Although the Trump administration agreed in court filings to partially fund November’s SNAP benefits, Trump backtracked on that pledge with a social media post, saying that the benefits would not be released until Democrats in Congress agreed to reopen the government.

Tuesday’s update from DHS alluded to the post, stating that the department is “aware of the president’s recent social media message from this morning” — after DHS received the USDA message and the reduced benefit amounts — “and will continue to monitor activity from the federal government.”

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Food stocked on shelves within the Rooted & Rising food center in Milwaukee. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

Rooted & Rising, a food center and Hunger Task Force partner, has provided nourishment to people living in Milwaukee’s Washington Park neighborhood for over three decades. The lapse in federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, known in Wisconsin as FoodShare, that began on Saturday is increasing desperation, according to staff. Over the last week, Bill Schmitt, executive director of Rooted & Rising, told the Wisconsin Examiner, “197 households came through the food center…And that’s about a 60% increase over what we would usually see.” 

On Friday, Gov. Tony Evers declared a state of emergency in Wisconsin due to the lapse in federal SNAP funding. 

By Monday afternoon people from more than 50 local households had already arrived at Rooted & Rising to pick up canned goods and  locally grown produce. Schmitt said the numbers on Monday showed a sustained spike. 

Rooted & Rising provides food once a month, or every 30 days, from noon to 4 p.m., in a neighborhood where, according to the food center’s website, the unemployment rate exceeds 15% and 50% of households live below the poverty line. 

“We know a lot of people came out last week,” Schmitt said, referring to the over 60% spike the pantry saw just before  SNAP benefits were cut off. “We’re just trying to keep pace with the demand and make sure that people still have a dignified, respectful experience here and they’re not having to wait too long.” 

Rooted & Rising’s shelves are stocked with assorted canned goods, boxes hold ripe fruits and vegetables and freezers preserve perishables including meat. People sit in chairs while staff buzz past carrying boxes and help load bags into cars. First-time visitors must present an I.D. and a current piece of mail.

On Monday, elderly people and parents with small children visited the food center, gathering  enough food in their carts to last three days or so. “It’s families just like yours and mine really,” said Schmitt. “It is primarily working families. And people are fitting in visits to the food center with their work schedule when they can, or someone’s coming on their behalf. And we know across the state, it’s 700,000 individuals that rely upon these benefits. And the majority of those families…They’re trying to make ends meet.” 

While there was a rise in the number of families visiting the food center at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rooted & Rising has seen a more recent uptick over the last year. In addition to the regulars, many people are either new families or people who hadn’t visited the food center in quite some time. “Our assessment of it is like wages just aren’t keeping pace with inflation,” said Schmitt. “There’s obviously been a sustained period of inflationary pressure in the economy more broadly, and subsequently we’ve seen, I mean, even before this government shutdown, our numbers were considerably higher than the year previous.”

Prior to last year, Rooted & Rising would see between 250-350 households a month. In October,  517 households came to the food center for assistance. 

“It is both the actual impact of the delayed food share benefits going out, but really it’s also like the uncertainty of it that we all know in our own lives,” Schmitt said. 

Leah Boonnam, 33, comes from one of those new families. Monday was the third time she’d come to Rooted & Rising.  She started coming to the food center back in the summer. “It’s a long story,” she said after loading groceries into her car. “I’m a widow. My husband passed a few years ago. So we don’t get FoodShare, I don’t get anything like that. We live off the survivors benefits. And so we’ve had to move a lot, like downsize.” 

A friend told Boonnam to check out the food center, which has been a big help to her family. While she works various jobs, Boonnam’s husband was her family’s main provider. “My plan is to finish paying off my debt to school so I can return and finish my degree, my masters,” she told the Wisconsin Examiner. “However, when I started my program, my husband had passed. It was right at the start of COVID and everything. So, he was the one that was the major breadwinner for our family.” Boonnam said she works hard, but “nothing compares to having two incomes in a household.” 

“I wish people didn’t feel so bad about having to come here,” she added. “This is a really beautiful thing that is available to us. I mean, this is such a help.”

”A lot of the fresh organic stuff that they get here is from the food pantries, and these are local businesses that are helping to support local people,” Boonnam said.

Another visitor, a friendly 48-year-old man who only wanted to be identified by his first name, Isaac, said he’d been coming to Rooted & Rising for about six years. “It’s very important because things are getting hectic and people don’t have no other options,” he said of SNAP.  If food assistance programs were to halt completely, Isaac said he worries  “crime might raise, or a lot of chaos.” He hopes that after the current federal shutdown is over, states will “plan ahead and think ahead,” grow food bank networks and provide “things that can assist folks who are in crisis. … We’ll make it, just a little more tender love and care.”

Bonny Walters, an older woman who has helped out at Rooted & Rising for more than 30 years, has seen the numbers of people needing the food center “increase a lot,” she said.  She hopes that even if people don’t help out at a food center, they understand that the need is real. 

With the future of SNAP still up in the air and the government shutdown continuing, Schmitt said the generosity of neighbors is more important than ever. Across Milwaukee County, food drives are being held to help provide a cushion for local residents who rely on FoodShare to survive. So far, over $74,000 has been raised — enough to provide over 222,000 meals. The Brewers Community Foundation made a $10,000 donation. Local elected leaders have criticized  the Trump administration for using hunger and food security as a political bargaining chip in Washington D.C. 

Schmitt explained that Rooted & Rising, as part of Milwaukee County’s emergency food network, is designed to meet the emergency nutritional needs of families on a monthly basis. “We do not have the capacity, or the resources, or even the physical space or stocks to fill the gap of the loss of FoodShare,” he said. 

“There’s a really visceral situation when you’re talking about people in your communities not having enough to eat and like, skipping meals, or you know, going hungry sometimes, too,” he added. “It’s crazy to think about that — in the wealthiest country in human history that this is an issue that we’re confronting right now. But, people have really been stepping up and we’re going to continue to rely upon that generosity of our community members and partners to kind of recognize that this is a unique moment, and one that requires all of us to work together and kind of meet the moment, meet the need of our fellow community members.”

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Federal funding for SNAP ran out on Nov. 1, and the cuts are affecting about 700,000 Wisconsinites who rely on SNAP. A “SNAP welcomed here” sign is seen at the entrance to a Big Lots store in Portland, Oregon. (Getty Images)

Gov. Tony Evers has declared a state of emergency in Wisconsin due to federal funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known as FoodShare in Wisconsin, being cut off over the weekend.

“Wisconsinites and Americans across the country are now scrambling, trying to figure out how to feed their families,” Evers said in a statement. “There’s no excuse for it, and this is a direct result of Republicans in Congress and the Trump administration, who’ve done nothing to help. As the courts agree, the Trump Administration could’ve stopped this from happening, but they didn’t, and now, Wisconsin’s kids, families, and seniors are worried about whether or when they’re going to eat next. This shouldn’t be happening.” 

Evers issued the declaration on Friday evening and ordered state agencies to take actions within their powers to provide support to Wisconsinites. 

Federal funding for SNAP ran out on Nov. 1, and the cuts are affecting about 700,000 Wisconsinites who rely on SNAP.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a $5 billion contingency fund for SNAP, but the Trump administration had claimed it couldn’t use it to fund regular benefits during the shutdown.

Two judges ruled on Friday that the Trump administration should use the contingency funds. It has until Wednesday to do so. The Trump administration said Monday it would partially fund SNAP following the rulings, though it is unclear how quickly SNAP beneficiaries will receive funds and how much they will receive. 

Until then, Evers said the executive order would help ensure Wisconsin agencies can do what they can within their power to support Wisconsinites. 

The order directs state agencies to take any and all necessary measures to address the emergency by prohibiting price gouging due to loss of FoodShare funding and economic disruptions and ensuring resources are available for Wisconsinites, including information about emergency aid and consumer protection. 

“The federal government shutdown has gone on long enough — it has to end,” Evers said. “Republicans must start working across the aisle to end the federal government shutdown and extend tax credits that will lower the cost of healthcare so Wisconsinites and Americans across our country have economic stability and certainty, and the Trump Administration must take action and do so quickly to fix the damage they’ve caused and ensure folks can get basic food and groceries they need to survive without any further delay.”

Evers is limited in the steps that he can take unilaterally to fill gaps and address the loss of funds. Some states, including Connecticut, Louisiana, Virginia and Vermont, have taken steps to partially fund SNAP using state and local dollars while federal funds are unavailable. For Wisconsin to take similar steps, however, it would require cooperation from the Republican-led Legislature and Evers.

A bill would need to pass both houses of the Legislature to appropriate funds and be signed by Evers. 

Senate President Mary Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk) said in an interview with WISN-12 on Oct. 26 that it was unlikely that state lawmakers would take action to backfill SNAP. 

“My heart goes out to people, but this is a federal issue, and I don’t see the state having the resources to do that,” Felzkowski said. “I just wish that the Democrats would sign this continuing resolution and vote for it, and let’s move on. They shouldn’t be playing games like this. You don’t hold people hostage over these kinds of issues, so no, I don’t see us stepping in.” 

The government shutdown is entering Day 34 with no end in sight, 

During a virtual press conference on Monday, a group of Wisconsin legislative Democrats criticized Republicans for letting SNAP funding lapse and for not taking more actions during the state budget to ensure that state programs support food assistance and farmers, saying they’ve fallen short when it comes to providing necessary aid for Wisconsinites. 

“The federal government is using hunger to negotiate, and I think that’s immoral,” Rep. Robyn Vining (D-Wauwatosa) said. 

Rep. Jenna Jacobson (D-Oregon) noted that the federal funds the Trump administration has agreed to release will not fully fund SNAP. 

“The funds being released — it’s only a partial payment, so there will still be families and kids that go hungry and yet Wisconsin’s portion of FoodShare is about one-third of the White House ballroom,” Jacobson said, referencing the renovations that Trump has undertaken in recent weeks to demolish the East Wing of the White House to build a ballroom. “We could get it funded.” 

Pfaff highlighted a number of measures that Democratic lawmakers have proposed this year, including free school meals for students, funding for a food security grant program, which would assist food banks and funding for a farm to fork grant program, which would provide state funding to help connect local entities with cafeterias to nearby farms to provide locally produced foods. 

“Every single one of these measures were either completely eliminated, or as in the case of the Farm to Fork program, severely cut by the Republican-controlled Legislature, which struck $20 million out of our Food Security Grant program, which would be very helpful right now,” Sen. Brad Pfaff (D-Onalaska) said. 

Asked whether the state Legislature or Evers should play more of a role as the shutdown continues and SNAP isn’t funded, however, Pfaff said the lawmakers were “not here today to talk about that.”

“What we are here today is to talk about what the [state] Legislature has within its jurisdiction right now, there’s bills that are ready to go,” Pfaff said.

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Reading Time: 3 minutes

As uncertainty surrounds Wisconsin’s SNAP program, also known as FoodShare, some community members are finding ways to support others in their time of need. 

Wisconsin’s FoodShare program serves more than 700,000 Wisconsin residents. FoodShare is funded through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. SNAP benefits across the country are at risk during the government shutdown.

After the Trump administration said it planned to to freeze payments to SNAP on Nov. 1, two federal judges on Friday ruled the administration must draw from contingency funds to keep aid flowing during the shutdown.

But those rulings may be appealed and benefits may be delayed.

Here are some things you can do if you live in Milwaukee and want to support anyone who might become impacted by FoodShare delays. 

What you should know

The Hunger Task Force of Milwaukee is in a position to provide resources to those impacted, according to Reno Wright, advocacy director for the nonprofit. 

“We do know that November payments are going to be delayed, but that eventually they will have access to those November benefits,” he said.

People can go to HungerTaskForce.org and access the “Get Help” page, and from there they will be able to find the nearest meal site or food pantry to them and their families, Wright said.

In the meantime, he said, FoodShare recipients should ensure their contact information is up to date to receive future updates.

You can also follow the Wisconsin Department of Health Services’ FoodShare update page. 

What’s being done

Food drive

The city of Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Milwaukee Public Schools and other partners launched a citywide food drive to help residents impacted by the federal shutdown and a pause of FoodShare benefits. 

Collaboration to support food pantries

Feeding America of Eastern Wisconsin and Nourish MKE are collaborating with the groups to collect nonperishable food and monetary donations to support Milwaukee food pantries. 

Residents can visit the City of Milwaukee’s Food Drive page or Milwaukee County’s Food Assistance page for information on how to donate. 

Community fridges

Metcalfe Park Community Bridges has been organizing around food needs and access through advocacy and opening community fridges. 

To keep up with or support Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, you can follow the group’s Facebook page. 

Advocacy efforts

The Hunger Task Force’s Voices Against Hunger is encouraging people to urge the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA, into helping. 

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture has the authority and the resources to prevent an interruption in benefits by using SNAP contingency funds, transferring funds from other departments and issuing clear guidance to state agencies. The tools to make sure families do not go hungry during this holiday season are available, and what is needed now is immediate administrative action and political will,” an email blast from the group stated.

Other efforts

Additionally, groups like the Hunger Task Force and Feeding America are gearing up to help those in need with donation campaigns and new trucks for food delivery. 

How you can help

Wright said the Hunger Task Force’s Voices Against Hunger is a statewide platform where information is sent out to let people know about things that are going on at the state and federal level, including federal nutrition programs like FoodShare. 

You can sign up for the group here and support the Voices Against Hunger efforts here. 

Shavonda Sisson, founder of the Love on Black Women Mutual Aid fund, took to social media to share concerns and ways to help. 

“We are all deeply concerned about the millions of families who will be impacted by the possible delays in SNAP benefits,” she said. “In times like these, community becomes crucial.” 

Sisson’s tips on how you can help your neighbors: 

• Reach out to your local food bank to see if it is accepting donations of time, food or money. All are going to be crucial.   
• Share your favorite low-cost meal plans and recipes. 
• Share a simple list of free hot meal sites, pantry hours and community fridges in your city. Keep it updated and easy to reshare.
• Stock and restock community fridges and neighborhood pantry boxes.
• If you own or manage a business, create a pantry shelf or offer shift meals and grocery stipends.

Others advocates said you can:

• Keep up with your neighbors and help where you can. 
• Offer rides to pick up food for those in need. 
• Volunteer at your neighborhood food pantries.

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Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America. 

How you can help neighbors in need if SNAP benefits are paused is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

A produce cooler at Willy Street Co-op in Madison, Wisconsin. FoodShare funding from the federal government will stop Nov. 1 if the federal government shutdown continues. (Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner)

With 10 days to go until Nov. 1, the effects of the federal government shutdown are hitting closer to home in Wisconsin.

Unless the shutdown ends by that date, Wisconsin’s FoodShare program, which serves more than 700,000 Wisconsin residents — about 12% of the state’s population — will run out of funds Nov. 1, Gov. Tony Evers said Tuesday. FoodShare is funded through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, previously known as Food Stamps.

Two Wisconsin Head Start early childhood education programs are at risk for not receiving their expected federal authorization that was to start Nov. 1, according to Jennie Mauer, executive director of the Wisconsin Head Start Association.

“Our social safety net is stretched,” Mauer said Tuesday. “This is just going to really short communities, and I think providers are bracing. We just don’t know the tidal wave that’s going to hit us, so everybody is really concerned.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture notified states earlier this month that the SNAP program would not have enough funds to pay full benefits to the program’s 42 million participants nationwide.

The department directed states to hold off on the transactions that move SNAP funds onto the electronic benefit cards that FoodShare members use to buy groceries.

FoodShare “may not be available at all next month if the federal government shutdown continues, leaving nearly 700,000 Wisconsinites without access to basic food and groceries,” the governor’s office said in a statement Tuesday.

“President Trump and Republicans in Congress must work across the aisle and end this shutdown now so Wisconsinites and Americans across our country have access to basic necessities like food and groceries that they need to survive,” Evers said.

Both the FoodShare and Medicaid programs refer to their participants as members. “FoodShare benefits are 100 percent funded by the federal government and the shutdown will need to end before members can begin getting benefits again,” the state Department of Health Services announced in the FoodShare news page Tuesday.

If FoodShare benefits stop in November, they won’t be lost, but they will be delayed, said Matt King, CEO of the Hunger Task Force in Milwaukee. When the shutdown ends, benefits will become available again, including those not paid during the shutdown.

The Hunger Task Force supplies food pantries throughout the greater Milwaukee area. If benefits stop, food pantry operators and suppliers expect to see a sharp increase in the need for their services.

“FoodShare is the first and most critical line of defense against hunger,” King said Tuesday. “The food pantry network across Wisconsin acts as a safety net to help people in an emergency. It’s not set up to be a sustainable source of food to meet all of their grocery needs.”

While helping people get access to food in an emergency, the food pantry network also works to connect people with “more sustainable and ongoing resources like the FoodShare program,” he said.

The impending pause on FoodShare funds will compound a need that has already increased by 35% across the state in the past year, King said. “The longer the government shutdown goes on, the more strain it will put onto the emergency food system.”

Mauer of the Head Start association said two of the state’s 39 Head Start programs were to receive authorization for their next round of funding starting Nov. 1, and with them the ability to draw on their federal grants for the next several months.

So far, the authorization hasn’t been received, Mauer said. In addition, however, if the authorization is issued but the shutdown remains in effect, “there’s no money” until a budget is enacted, she added. “They need money in the coffers for [Head Start agencies] to draw down.”

The issue will repeat for programs that must reauthorize by Dec. 1 and Jan. 1 if the shutdown continues.

The remaining Head Start programs are not believed to be in peril, Mauer said, because their grants have already been funded by the previous fiscal year’s appropriations.   

The Head Start program operated by the Sheboygan Human Rights Association is one of the two awaiting its Nov. 1 reauthorization and the new round of funding that would ordinarily begin then.

“At this point, we are unsure how we will be affected,” said Theresa Christen-Liebig, the executive director of the nonprofit. The agency is using “some state funding resources to continue services until mid-November,” Christen-Liebig told the Wisconsin Examiner in an email. The agency’s board will meet next week to consider its steps for the rest of November and beyond, she said.

“The uncertainty makes the situation stressful and hard on our staff and families,” Christen-Liebig said. “We are keeping everyone updated as we try to work things out and decisions are made to continue to provide services.”

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The clock is ticking before Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits will be delayed for approximately 42 million Americans in November due to the federal government shutdown.

That leaves just nine days until Wisconsin — a key battleground state with two competitive House races in the 2026 midterms — runs out of funding for its food assistance program, Gov. Tony Evers announced Tuesday. Already, November benefits will certainly be delayed, Evers said.

“President Trump and Republicans in Congress must work across the aisle and end this shutdown now so Wisconsinites and Americans across our country have access to basic necessities like food and groceries that they need to survive,” Evers said in a statement.

The governor is one of several Wisconsin Democrats who added SNAP delays to the long list of shutdown impacts they blame on Republicans.

“I want the government to reopen and to lower health care costs and to undo some of the devastating things that were done in Trump’s signature legislation, the ‘Big, Ugly bill,’” Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin told NOTUS. “It’s in the Republicans’ hands to do that.”

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley introduced legislation on Tuesday to use unappropriated Treasury funds for payment of SNAP benefits during the shutdown. It is unclear if his bill will gain traction in the Senate.

“We need to start forcing Democrats to make some tough votes during this shutdown,” he said in an X post.

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson declined to comment on SNAP’s funding lapsing.

Nearly 700,000 people rely on FoodShare, Wisconsin’s SNAP program for families and seniors that is entirely funded by federal dollars. Wisconsin’s program already took a hit from Trump’s budget law, which will raise the state’s portion of administrative costs for running FoodShare by at least $43.5 million annually.

Wisconsin is among a slew of states sounding the alarm on SNAP funding, with Texas officials setting Oct. 27 as the last day before benefits will be disrupted. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said his state’s food assistance program may be disrupted if the government does not reopen by Thursday, and Pennsylvania’s Department of Health Services announced that benefits will not be paid starting last week.

Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan, who represents the Madison area, lamented risks to FoodShare in a statement to NOTUS.

“This funding risk could be resolved tomorrow if Republicans would return to Washington to vote with Democrats on a bill to fund the government and protect access to affordable health care for millions of Americans,” he said.

November benefits will be delayed in Wisconsin “even if the shutdown ends tomorrow,” according to the announcement from Evers’ office.

It is not yet certain that delays in benefits will occur, and any disruptions would be a deliberate “policy choice,” said Gina Plata-Nino, the interim director for SNAP at the Food Research & Action Center.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture could use a similar tactic as Trump did when he directed the Defense Department and the Office of Management and Budget on Oct. 15 to issue on-time paychecks to active duty members of the military using leftover appropriated funds, Plata-Nino told NOTUS.

The Trump administration transferred $300 million to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children to prevent benefits disruptions earlier this month. The Department of Agriculture will release more than $3 billion in aid to farmers during the shutdown.

“It is in their hands to issue a letter to the states and say, ‘We have $6 billion in contingency funding. We’re going to go ahead and utilize that, and we’re looking for sources of funding like we did for WIC, but then also how we’ve done to farmers when there’s been issues,” Plata-Nino said.

Plata-Nino said states and Electronic Benefit Transfer processors — companies that process EBT transactions for stores — would need to know they are getting contingency funds by later this week or early next week for SNAP benefits to go out smoothly on Nov. 1.

“Even if on the 30th, the USDA acts late and then finally issues its contingency funds, benefits are still going to be late,” she added.

Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, said in a statement Republicans should “come to the negotiating table” on the shutdown.

“After already cutting FoodShare in their One Beautiful Bill, Republicans’ inaction could again increase hunger and food insecurity,” she said.

When asked about FoodShare delays, Rep. Tom Tiffany, a Republican from northern Wisconsin who is running to replace Evers, pointed to Democrats’ 11 votes against Republicans’ continuing resolution bills.

“Maybe Governor Evers should ask Senator Baldwin why she is blocking the bipartisan budget bill and holding these programs hostage,” Tiffany said in a statement.

Republican Rep. Tony Wied, who represents the Green Bay area, pointed at Baldwin and other Democrats’ votes against the continuing resolution, accusing them of playing “political games.”

“House Republicans voted for a clean continuing resolution to keep the government open and ensure critical programs like FoodShare continue uninterrupted,” Wied said in a statement to NOTUS. “I am calling on Senator Baldwin and the rest of her Democratic colleagues to change course and vote to open the government immediately so Wisconsinites in need do not have to worry about going hungry.”

But Danielle Nierenberg, the president of the nonpartisan advocacy organization Food Tank, said Democrats and Republicans are “both in the wrong” for potential SNAP disruptions.

“Food should never have been politicized in this way. So whether you’re Democrat or a Republican you shouldn’t be punishing poor people for just being poor and denying them the benefits they deserve,” Nierenberg said.

This story was produced and originally published by Wisconsin Watch and NOTUS, a publication from the nonprofit, nonpartisan Allbritton Journalism Institute.

Wisconsin members of Congress point fingers as SNAP benefits run out is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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As October comes to an end, the threat of missing FoodShare and WIC benefits looms for people across Wisconsin and across the nation. 

In an Oct. 10 letter, Sasha Gersten-Paal, director of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s development division, said: “SNAP has funding available for benefits and operations through the month of October. However, if the current lapse in appropriations continues, there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits for approximately 42 million individuals across the nation.” 

Nearly 700,000 Wisconsinites receive food and nutrition assistance through FoodShare. 

Here are some things you can do if you live in Milwaukee and may be impacted by a lack of food resources in November.

Food resources 

If you or someone you know needs emergency food, call 2-1-1, or visit the IMPACT 211 website here. 

Hunger Task Forces’ Mobile Market : Operating as a grocery store on wheels, the Mobile Market provides healthy and affordable food options to families. The Mobile Market offers 25% off all items beyond Piggly Wiggly’s prices. 

To find out where the Mobile Market will be next, you can look at the Hunger Task Force website.

Community-powered fridges: In September, Tricklebee Café, One MKE and Metcalfe Park Community Bridges opened a community-powered fridge. Several more are planned to open. 

Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin provides a pantry locator and distributes food to partners across the region. 

UMOS operates a food pantry for residents in the 53207 and 53221 ZIP codes, as well as all first-time visitors. 

NourishMKE is a network of community food centers that provides a market-style experience for selecting and preparing food. 

Milwaukee Christian Center offers community services, including a food pantry. 

Tricklebee Café hosts a pay-what-you-can community café that provides meals.

Milwaukee County Senior Dining Program provides nutritious lunches to seniors 59 and older at various senior centers. 

Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

SNAP benefits may not go out in November. Here’s where you can go for food assistance. is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Those who utilize FoodShare and Medicaid may see some changes soon, the result of President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” 

Here is what you need to know. 

Changes to FoodShare (SNAP)

Nearly 700,000 Wisconsinites receive food and nutrition assistance through FoodShare. 

Reno Wright, advocacy director for Hunger Task Force of Milwaukee, said that while no changes have been enacted yet, the bill calls for a series of modifications. 

Some include: 

• Expanded work requirements. The age range for adults required to meet work requirements will increase from 18-54 to 18-64. Parents of children age 14 and older will now also need to meet work requirements.
• Restrictions for new legal immigrants: Before the bill, many immigrants like those with refugee status were exempt from the five-year waiting period that some legal permanent residents face to qualify for FoodShare benefits. The new law removes these exemptions, effectively making many new immigrants ineligible for the food assistance program. 
• Stricter exemption rules: Some people like veterans, people who are homeless and former foster youths aged 18-24 are exempt from having to meet work requirements in order to receive SNAP benefits. The bill removes those exemptions. 

These changes will only be implemented once the Wisconsin Department of Health Services receives further guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

Wright said current FoodShare recipients should ensure their contact information is up to date to receive future updates.

Changes to medical benefits

Approximately one in five Wisconsinites (or 1 million people) receive health care coverage and services through Wisconsin’s Medicaid programs. Almost half of Wisconsin Medicaid members are children.

The U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee Minority released a statement indicating that 276,175 Wisconsinites will lose health care coverage under both the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid because of the new law over the next decade.

In Milwaukee County, 19,951 people are at high risk of losing health coverage. 

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services and a webinar from the National Press Foundation helped explain what’s going to change. 

Some changes include: 

• Expanded work requirements: Recipients will now have to do 80 hours a month of qualifying activities like work, school or volunteering. 
• Restrictions for new legal immigrants: Refugees and other people in the U.S. for humanitarian reasons are generally exempt from the standard five-year waiting period to receive Medicaid benefits. The bill removes that exemption.  
• Recipients have to be requalified for coverage and services every six months. 
• Cost-sharing requirements will expand. 

According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, these changes will force working people off the program because of red-tape work reporting requirements; increase medical debt and uncompensated care; increase Wisconsin’s uninsured population; and prevent Wisconsin from innovating and designing the best program for the state. 

These changes are set to take effect in late 2026. 

What’s being done to help

Alyssa Blom, a communications manager with the Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services, said that while the full impact of the Medicaid cuts is still unclear, the department is supporting those impacted. 

“We are concerned about how they may affect access to programs and services, especially for the most vulnerable in Milwaukee County,” she said. “Our priority is to continue supporting Medicaid recipients and ensuring continuity of care, while preparing for potential changes ahead.” 

Wright said the Hunger Task Force has an advocacy group called Voices Against Hunger. It is a statewide platform where information is sent out to let people know about things that are going on at the state and federal level, including federal nutrition programs like FoodShare. 

You can sign up for the group here.

What you need to know about changes to FoodShare (SNAP) and Medicaid is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.