The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) has announced that full November Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits will be processed by Friday morning. This follows a resolution in Congress to end the federal government shutdown, which was reached late Wednesday evening. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued guidance to states on Thursday allowing them to issue full benefits.
According to NCDHHS, about 600,000 households in North Carolina are expected to have their full SNAP benefit amounts loaded onto their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards by Friday.
Governor Josh Stein said, “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 stated, “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 had been uncertainty regarding SNAP benefit issuance due to changing USDA guidance and lawsuits over whether federal contingency funds should be used for November payments. North Carolina participated in one of these lawsuits.
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 distributed partial November SNAP benefits—about 65% of normal maximum allotments—to more than 586,000 households. Those who usually receive maximum amounts saw a reduction of 35%, while others experienced deeper cuts or no benefits at all due to formula changes.
All North Carolina SNAP beneficiaries are now scheduled to receive their full November benefits by Friday. Some may receive these earlier than usual depending on when they typically receive payments each month; December’s schedule remains unchanged.
NCDHHS is providing updates via its website dedicated specifically to information about EBT/SNAP status during the shutdown. Beneficiaries are encouraged to check local resources if immediate food assistance is needed or call 2-1-1 for help finding food pantries.
SNAP participants should continue monitoring balances using ebtEDGE app or website or by calling customer service at 1-888-622-7328.
