The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) finds itself in a legal showdown, as it complies with a federal court's directive to pay full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to nearly 42 million low-income citizens. This mandate arrives concurrently with the Trump administration's appeals to countermand the order during the longest-ever federal government shutdown.

State agencies, supported by USDA's memos, began distributing full SNAP benefits for November, despite SNAP funding freezing at the month's start for the first time in six decades. Beneficiaries, grappling with reduced benefits, turned to local food pantries and made sacrifices such as skipping medications, reflecting the broader economic strains facing the country. Essential as SNAP benefits are, providing

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