Full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits have been restored for November to residents of Minnesota and other states following legal action led by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. The restoration comes after a 10-day period of litigation in two federal courts, during which Ellison co-led a coalition of 23 attorneys general and three governors in suing the Trump Administration over the suspension of SNAP benefits during the federal government shutdown.
As a result, the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) has begun issuing full November SNAP food benefits. Minnesotans are expected to see these benefits on their EBT cards starting Saturday, November 8. DCYF is continuing to monitor the situation.
Attorney General Ellison stated: “It should never have come to this. In past federal government shutdowns, SNAP benefits have been fully funded — but this time, Donald Trump chose to hold hungry Minnesotans hostage, making sure they stayed hungry while billionaires got richer literally by the second. I’m relieved our lawsuit to hold Trump accountable for this illegal and shameless behavior is helping to feed our neighbors, friends, and loved ones in Minnesota — and still outraged at his and his administration’s cruelty and lies. I will never stop fighting to unrig this economy and the powerful interests — including in the White House — that profit off it while Americans suffer.”
About 440,000 Minnesotans rely on SNAP each month for food assistance. This group includes approximately 180,000 children, 67,000 seniors, and 52,000 people with disabilities. On average, recipients receive $5.46 per day for food.
Minnesota receives about $73 million monthly in SNAP benefits. According to estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, every dollar spent through SNAP generates $1.54 in economic activity during periods when the economy is slowing.
The lawsuit was filed on October 28 in federal court in Massachusetts against the Trump Administration’s suspension of SNAP payments during the shutdown. By October 31, an order required use of contingency funds for November payments; further action on November 6 sought full funding throughout the shutdown period. Parallel litigation in Rhode Island produced similar outcomes supporting benefit restoration.
Ellison was joined by attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont Washington and Wisconsin as well as governors from Kansas Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
For more information about Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office or its services visit their official website or contact them at their St. Paul office.
