Utah officials say no matter what, they anticipate residents who rely on federal food stamps will receive some amount of help by the end of the month.
The size of those payments and when they come, however, will likely be determined beyond Utah’s borders.
If Congress and the White House have not approved a deal to reopen the government by Friday, the state agency that administers the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program expects it will be able to issue 65% partial payments of the benefits “on or about” that day.
But, according to Utah Department of Workforce Services officials, after both Republican-controlled chambers of Congress have passed and President Donald Trump has signed off on a deal to fund the government, Utah SNAP recipients can expect a full payment of benefits within 24 hours.
“Once the government reopens and SNAP receives funding, we will issue full benefits to all customers within 24 hours. Our intent is to have a payment deposited by the middle of the month,” a spokesperson for Gov. Spencer Cox’s office wrote in a statement.
Nearly 170,000 — or one in 21 — Utahns relied on SNAP in fiscal 2024, according to an analysis by the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
As of Monday, one-third of those recipients had been affected by their benefits being halted. The second tranche of Utah SNAP beneficiaries were originally scheduled to receive assistance on Tuesday and the remaining third on Friday.
During the record-breaking federal government shutdown, which has now continued for more than 40 days, it has at times been unclear whether the poorest Americans would receive any of their typical help purchasing groceries.
The Trump administration’s Department of Agriculture has enough reserve funds to continue the program, but since Congress failed to fund the government before Oct. 1, the agency has insisted it would not pay out November SNAP benefits.
On Thursday, a U.S. district judge ordered the department to issue the aid in full. And an appeals court refused to block that ruling.
Several states disbursed full benefits to residents who rely on SNAP for food on Friday. Utah was not among them, and Department of Workforce Services officials say they were awaiting guidance from the USDA.
Spokespeople for top state lawmakers did not respond to an inquiry about whether they are considering efforts to ensure Utah SNAP recipients receive benefits.
As the Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to weigh the lower court’s ruling and decide whether it has the authority to halt funding for food stamps, it also said it intends to punish the states that had already provided benefits.
A spokesperson for Cox, who chaired the National Governors Association from 2023-2024, did not answer questions about his position on those states’ actions and the White House’s threats.
The governor and top state Republican lawmakers said last month that Utah would give as much as $4 million to the Utah Food Bank to help it respond to growing need amid the shutdown, using the announcement to blame the government stoppage on Democrats.
Days later, Democrats in the Utah Senate urged GOP officials to call a special session of the Legislature to use part of Utah’s more than $330 million rainy-day fund to pay SNAP benefits.
“The timing is imperative for the state to cover the remaining amount to ensure families receive uninterrupted support while efforts continue to resolve the shutdown,” the letter read.
Cox, Senate President Stuart Adams and House Speaker Mike Schultz rejected the idea in a statement provided to FOX13.
“The state is not structured to bail out Washington, nor can it sustain or fund federal programs,” their response read. “Rainy day funds are intended by law to provide relief during natural disasters and severe economic downturns, not to compensate for dysfunction in Washington, D.C. Using state funds to compensate for federal inaction would rapidly drain reserves and undermine Utah’s long-term fiscal stability.”