SNAP recipients go without food after benefits don't arrive

For recipients of SNAP, also known as food stamps, November payments have been delayed, forcing them to go hungry. A judge ordered the Trump administration to distribute benefits by Friday.

Gia Haley is trying to survive on water and coffee.

Haley, 41, said she has been out of groceries since Oct. 29, and the monthly $298 she receives in food assistance did not arrive as it ordinarily would have on Wednesday.

“The black coffee kind of kills my appetite,” she said.

Haley is one of more than 40 million people across the country who count on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a federal benefit that dates back to the late 1930s. But disruptions to SNAP, also known as food stamps, during what has become the longest government shutdown in American history have left recipients facing imminent hunger, unable to restock their pantries or refrigerators.

Although the Trump administration said partial funds would be distributed this month — a response to a lawsuit challenging its plan to suspend SNAP payments during the shutdown — recipients who were due to receive their benefits this week have empty balances.