The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) announced that full November Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments are expected to be processed by Friday morning. This action follows the resolution in Congress to end the federal government shutdown, which was finalized late Wednesday evening, and subsequent guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Thursday for states to issue full benefits.
Approximately 600,000 households in North Carolina should have their full SNAP benefit amount loaded onto their EBT cards by Friday. Governor Josh Stein stated, “I am grateful to NCDHHS for working around the clock to ensure North Carolinians get their full November benefits as quickly as possible. People will be able to go to the grocery store this weekend to purchase the food they need to keep their loved ones healthy and strong.”
NC Health and Human Services Secretary Dev Sangvai said, “As soon as we received authorization from the federal government, we immediately began working to get benefits out to the nearly 1.4 million people who depend on SNAP to keep food on the table. I am thankful that we will be able to make food benefits available on Friday, and to our team for their unwavering commitment to fight hunger.”
Since October, there has been uncertainty about SNAP benefit issuance nationwide due to changing USDA guidance and legal challenges regarding use of federal contingency funds for November benefits. North Carolina joined one such lawsuit.
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson commented, “It was wrong and unlawful for the federal government to use our children as political pawns during the shutdown. Now that the government has reopened and we’ve won our case against USDA for breaking the law, North Carolinians will get the rest of their November SNAP payments. Thank you to the folks at DHHS for working so hard to get these payments out.”
On November 7th, following initial USDA guidance during the shutdown period, NCDHHS had loaded partial November SNAP benefits at approximately 65% of normal maximum allotment for over 586,000 households. Households receiving maximum amounts saw a reduction of 35%, while others experienced even greater reductions or no benefits at all due to USDA’s formula.
All beneficiaries in North Carolina are now expected see their full November SNAP benefits reflected by Friday; some may receive them earlier than usual depending on their regular schedule. December SNAP payments will follow normal distribution timelines.
NCDHHS is providing updates through its website dedicated to information about the federal government shutdown as well as updating its SNAP program page with additional details and an FAQ section.
Beneficiaries are encouraged check balances via ebtEDGE app or ebtEDGE.com, or call 1-888-622-7328 using information provided on EBT cards.
For those needing immediate food assistance, resources can be accessed by calling 2-1-1 or visiting the NCDHHS food access page online.
