Arkansas Advocate: SNAP benefits expected to be issued to Arkansans soon

PHOTO: A shopper who receives SNAP benefits slides an EBT card at a checkout counter in a Washington, D.C., grocery store in December 2024. | U.S. Department of Agriculture photo

By ANTOINETTE GRAJEDA | Arkansas Advocate

Arkansans should expect their full SNAP benefits for November to be disbursed to cards late Thursday and into Friday, according to the state’s human services department.

The announcement comes after President Donald Trump signed a bill into law Wednesday night that reopened the federal government following a 43-day shutdown, the longest in the country’s history. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which serves about 42 million people, has been the subject of legal battles in recent weeks as officials argued if and how much beneficiaries could be paid during the shutdown. 

Following revised guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Thursday, the Arkansas Department of Human Services has started internal processes to allow the distribution of SNAP funding “as soon as possible,” according to an agency press release. SNAP benefits, which are completely federally funded but administered by the states, are expected to be available beginning at midnight. 

“We are pleased that our beneficiaries will soon receive this important food assistance because we know that families all across our state depend on SNAP to supplement their grocery budgets,” DHS Secretary Janet Mann said in the release. “This has been difficult for our beneficiaries, and we are incredibly appreciative to our partners across the state who helped bridge the gap through food pantries, donation drives, and other assistance efforts.”

Some of that assistance came from Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who released a million dollarsin state funds to the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance for sharing with six regional food banks.

More than 222,000 individuals and over 118,000 households received SNAP benefits as of Sept. 1, according to DHS. Arkansas has the highest prevalence of food insecurity in the nation, according to a 2024 USDA report.

More than 70 DHS employees were furloughed because of the shutdown, and funds administered to community partners through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), and Community Service Block Grant (CSBG) programs were suspended, according to the release. Transitional Employment Assistance (TEA)/Work Pays cash assistance programs for newly approved beneficiaries were also suspended.

About half of the furloughed DHS employees were within the Division of Provider Services and Quality Assurance, and they returned to work on Thursday. Other employees remained on furlough and the affected programs were still paused Thursday pending confirmation from federal partners that funds were restored, according to the release.