What to know as Pennsylvania braces for loss of SNAP benefits

Close to 2 million Pennsylvania residents are at risk of losing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits on Nov. 1 as a result of the federal government shutdown, which has now stretched past the 30-day mark. And despite two court rulings against the Trump administration today, those benefits are likely to be eliminated at midnight if, as many anticipate, the administration appeals those rulings.

Amid the shutdown-induced uncertainty, officials at the state and federal levels have looked to connect Pennsylvania SNAP recipients with food banks and other resources. Meanwhile, Gov. Josh Shapiro took executive action on the issue on Friday, following his administration's participation in a multistate lawsuit earlier in the week, which asked a federal court to utilize $6 billion in federal SNAP contingency funds to cover November benefits.

The suspension of SNAP payments, outlined in an Oct. 10 letter to states from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, could affect as many as 42 million people nationwide, according to the department. 

Below, City & State examines the effects the shutdown will have on Pennsylvania residents and what Pennsylvania officials are doing to mitigate the impact on those who rely on nutrition assistance programs.

Shapiro takes executive action

Shapiro held a press conference on Friday in Philadelphia to announce steps his administration has taken to support Pennsylvania's charitable food networks, including a declaration of disaster emergency that will immediately make $5 million in commonwealth funds available to food banks in the state. 

“This is all because the Trump administration has decided that it will not be issuing SNAP benefits for the month of November, which, of course, begins tomorrow. They made this determination even though they are sitting on billions of dollars of congressionally appropriated contingency funds,” Shapiro said Friday at Philabundance, the southeast’s regional food bank. 

Shapiro, who pointed to the federal rulings announced Friday that require the Trump administration to resume SNAP payments, said that despite judges siding with the states’ case, more must be done to ensure food security networks are supported throughout the litigation process. 

“No. 1, it's going to take about 10 days for them to be able to get those dollars flowing to SNAP recipients again. And No. 2, given this administration and its propensity to ignore the rule of law, I don't trust that they're going to follow this judge's ruling,” Shapiro said. “I sure hope the Trump administration does not appeal and instead adheres to the rule of law and follows this judge's ruling.”

Shapiro added that an additional $1 million from a private-sector fundraising effort will also be allocated to support state food banks, noting that the funds will be available to food banks as of next week, when monthly benefits are not typically available. 

Julie Bancroft, CEO of the statewide nonprofit Feeding PA, said the funds will help many “manage this uncertain period” but more must be done to ensure Pennsylvanians have access to fresh, healthy foods. 

“The situation will become more dire the longer people do not have access to SNAP benefits,” Bancroft said. “This support will help more families gather for the holidays and enjoy gratitude instead of fear.”

What to know about the lawsuit against the Trump administration

The Shapiro administration announced on Oct. 28 that it had joined more than 20 other states and Washington, D.C., in suing President Donald Trump’s administration over the suspension of SNAP benefits. 

The lawsuit asked the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts to “furnish the SNAP benefits that have already been calculated and determined by Plaintiffs’ state agencies for November 2025” using the $6 billion in congressionally appropriated funds. 

The filing also asked the court to vacate the USDA’s directive asking states to withhold SNAP benefit issuance files for the month of November. Shapiro, in a statement, blamed the Trump administration for the suspension of nutrition assistance benefits. 

“For the first time since the program began in 1964, SNAP payments have been halted across the country because the Trump Administration has decided to use critical food assistance as a political bargaining chip,” the governor said in a statement. “That is unacceptable, especially when the USDA has billions of dollars in Congressionally-appropriated contingency funding on hand to fund SNAP and ensure millions of people don’t go hungry.” 

Other states that joined the suit include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

1.9M Pennsylvanians on the verge of losing SNAP benefits

According to state data, 1,936,432 Pennsylvanians currently receive SNAP benefits as of September – and roughly 714,000 children and 697,000 seniors relied on the program each month last year. 

The state received more than $4.3 billion in SNAP benefits last fiscal year, according to the Shapiro administration. 

Out of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, Philadelphia has the highest number of SNAP enrollees, with 472,711 people relying on the program. Allegheny County came in second with 160,449 people, and Delaware County has the third-highest enrollee count with 74,428. Luzerne County is fourth with 69,603 SNAP recipients, and Montgomery County is fifth with 62,544 recipients.

Rounding out the Top 10 counties are Lehigh County (61,128); Berks County (60,226); York County (59,630); Lancaster County (55,082); and Erie County (54,434).

Pennsylvania congressional members react to SNAP snafu

Pennsylvania officials across the aisle are reacting with concern to the potential impact that the suspension of November payments could have on their constituents, although they’re not in agreement on who should bear the bulk of the blame.

Democratic U.S. Sen. John Fetterman said in a social media post that all of Congress bears blame. 

“This Saturday, 2M moms, dads, and kids lose benefits to feed themselves. I won’t have an answer for those SNAP recipients in PA,” he wrote. “This is the collective failure and shame of Congress – and to them, I am truly sorry. End this chaos. Open our government.”

Republican U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick urged Democrats to back a solution to open the government in a post of his own.

“I’ve voted 13 times to reopen the government so federal workers in PA can get their paychecks and SNAP benefits can continue to reach those in need,” McCormick said. “The way out of the Schumer Shutdown hasn’t changed. Five more Democrats need to vote to reopen the government.”

Republican U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan, whose district includes 141,020 SNAP recipients, sponsored legislation that would have kept SNAP funded in the event of a shutdown. He denounced political blame-shifting over SNAP in an Oct. 30 statement. 

“It is unacceptable for either side of the aisle to use food as political leverage,” Bresnahan said. “It is far past time to reopen the government and get back to work. No parent should have to worry about feeding their child because Washington cannot get its act together.”

Democratic U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan said in a press call on Thursday that the federal government should use the contingency funding referenced in the multistate lawsuit. 

“They can unfreeze this money … They can feed our veterans and they can feed our families today; they’re just choosing not to,” she said.