Northwest Florida SNAP recipients face uncertainty as government shutdown ties record

PENSACOLA, Fla. — The government shutdown is now tied with the longest shutdown in U.S. history at 35 days.

The Trump administration has promised emergency funds will be used to partially pay SNAP benefits, but the program that supplies food stamps is only getting 58% of its budget.

The Trump administration promised some SNAP benefits will go out for the month of November.

According to court papers filed on Monday, the Trump administration said they will not use leftover tariff funds even though it would cover the nearly $9 billion it costs the country to fully fund benefits for a month.

Instead, the money will come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s entire contingency fund. That’s about $4.65 billion, which will only partially cover SNAP benefits.

“I don’t know how much longer I can last,” senior SNAP recipient Suzie Moore said.

The Florida Department of Children and Families, which administers these benefits, says they have not received guidance on what partial funding will look like.

Workers at the food stamp office on North 9th Avenue say they are still under the impression benefits will not go out at all this month.

The Trump administration says they will, but it warns it could take a minimum of two weeks to load benefits onto EBT cards.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said all of the benefits can be restored if Democrats vote to pass the GOP funding bill. But that would require them to give up their request for an extension of federal health care subsidies.

“Democrats are in the middle of a civil war, and they should just open the government. That is the easiest way to do this,” Bessent said.

Some Democrats say President Donald Trump should be at the bargaining table, as this is the second-longest government shutdown under his leadership.

“Cutting down the East Wing to build a ballroom — he should be at the table negotiating with Democrats to reopen the government,” Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen said.

We’ve reached out to Congressman Jimmy Patronis to see if he has more information on how benefits will be distributed in Florida.

We want to know if all 3 million Floridians who get food stamps will receive a portion of their benefits, or if families with children will be prioritized.

We’re still waiting to hear back.