Two federal judges issued rulings mandating the Trump administration to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) using contingency funds during the ongoing government shutdown.

The rulings came just one day before the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) planned to halt SNAP payments citing inability to fund the program due to the shutdown.

Driving the news: SNAP is the largest food aid program in the U.S., serving about 1 in 8 Americans, and is a critical component of the nation’s social safety net. • News that SNAP payments would stop after November 1 sparked urgent reactions from states, food banks, and recipients, many scrambling to find alternative food sources. • Some states announced plans to use their own funds temporarily to maintain versions of SNAP in the

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