Food stamps to stop from November 1: All about SNAP, US aid programme for poor Americans

The announcement comes 25 days after the government shutdown commenced, following the demand by Democrats in Congress to extend expiring healthcare subsidies and restore Medicaid cuts introduced as part of Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill. Here is everything to know.

First, what is SNAP?

SNAP is the largest food assistance programme in the US in which the recipients are given reloadable debit cards, which they may use to purchase essential groceries from supermarkets and e-commerce platforms like Amazon Grocery.

The programme has traditionally been funded on a 50:50 basis by the federal government and the states, with the former typically paying for the benefits and the states assuming the cost of administering the programme.

And who is eligible?

People with incomes at or below the federal poverty line are eligible for assistance. The amount is determined by the prices of necessities such as food, clothing and housing according to the Consumer Price Index, which in 2025 is $15,060 for one person, and $30,000 for a family of four.

Until July 2025, recipients could avail a maximum monthly benefit of $292 individually, and $975 for a family of four.

While recipients are traditionally US citizens, some refugees who have been granted asylum, hail from Cuba or Haiti, or belong to certain groups, have been eligible if the income requirements were met. Permanent residents and green-card holders can only avail the benefits if they have completed five years.

Until the passage of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) in July, parents with dependents under 14, veterans and homeless persons were exempt from remaining in the workforce until age 54, a requirement for eligibility. The act has now raised the working age to 64, and only excludes parents with children under 7.

So why do people still call it the Food Stamp Program?

While SNAP was introduced in 2008, it replaced the pre-existing Food Stamp Program, which dates back to 1939.

Following the Great Depression, the massive economic crisis which sapped American consumers of their purchasing power and resulted in a glut of crops in the market with drastically reduced prices, the Franklin D Roosevelt administration mooted a programme to revive the economy.

The first-ever orange and blue food stamp coupons (Wikimedia Commons)

A pilot food stamp program was introduced in Rochester, New York, in 1939. Consumers could redeem orange “food stamps” (modelled on the ubiquitous postage stamps) at any of the 1,200 participating groceries in the neighbourhood to buy any goods on the shelves. Similar blue stamps could be used only to purchase surplus agro-produce such as eggs, flour, butter and cornmeal. The grocers were also incentivised – they could exchange the food stamps for money at banks.

John F Kennedy revived the food stamp programme in one of his first actions as president in 1961, doing away with the stamps for surplus goods. The programme was cemented into law in 1964 when then-President Lyndon B Johnson signed the Food Stamp Act, while reforms for anti-fraud provisions were incorporated in the subsequent Food Stamp Reform Act, 1977.

One of its biggest patrons was Republican President Richard Nixon, and it grew from 3 million recipients in 1969 to 15 million by 1974 under his presidency.

The program completely did away with paper coupons in the 1990s, switching to debit cards that allowed for direct benefit transfers to the recipients. The 2008 rebranding reflected this change, with paper food stamps being virtually non-existent.

And why is the government cutting off SNAP assistance?

While SNAP, or the food stamp programme, has traditionally enjoyed bipartisan support, the Trump administration has not been convinced of its benefits.

Long before the shutdown, the One Big Beautiful Bill, Trump’s pet policy and spending mega-package, was signed into law in July. Among its key provisions was spending cuts to SNAP to the tune of about $187 bn until 2034, according to an estimate by the Congressional Budget Office. The new law also changed the eligibility conditions and called on states to contribute more funds. Further, states with higher rates of ‘improper payments’ would be required to shoulder up to 15% of the costs.

Against this backdrop came the US government shutdown on October 1, which prevented Congress from approving additional spending. Thus, recipients would not receive the necessary funds to top up their cards.

What could be the impact of this move?

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a progressive American think tank, over 40 million low-income people, or about one in eight people in the US would be impacted. This includes about 16 million children, 8 million older adults, and 4 million people with disabilities.

Over a dozen states have warned this month that food stamp recipients would likely experience significant delays in benefits next month, or not receive aid at all.

While the programme has a $5bn contingency fund that could be used for the payouts during the shutdown, the USDA said it would not dip into this bucket, and would not reimburse states that had temporarily taken on this burden. Further, this amount would not suffice to cover funding all the benefits during the month.

In a memo that became public on Friday (October 24), the Trump administration said it would utilise the funds to help individuals in disaster areas, with the onset of Tropical Storm Melissa.

The administration is also under fire for announcing a $4 billion bailout package for Argentina, which is governed by Donald Trump’s ally and “favourite president”, Javier Milei.