The DeSantis administration is warning nearly 3 million Floridians who rely on federal food assistance that their benefits won’t be available in November due to the federal government shutdown.
“If the federal government shutdown continues into November, (supplemental nutrition assistance program) SNAP benefits for the month of November will not be issued until federal funding is restored,” the Florida Department of Children Families (DCF) posted on its webpage.
“You may receive notices about your eligible benefit amount, but you will not receive any benefits deposited to your (electronic benefit transfer) EBT card during this time.”
DCF posted its notice in close proximity to the U.S. Department of Agriculture declaring in a memo that it would not tap into a $6 billion emergency fund to temporarily finance the program.
Florida has the fourth largest SNAP enrollment nationwide with 2.94 million relying on the assistance for their food security, behind California, Texas, and New York. Nationwide, 41.7 million people rely on SNAP benefits, August 2025 data show.
SNAP provides nutritional support for low-income seniors, people with disabilities living on fixed incomes, and other individuals and families with low incomes. Although funded by the federal government, SNAP in Florida is administered by DCF’s Office of Economic Self-Sufficiency, which is responsible for determining eligibility.
USDA — in a notice it posted Friday — put the blame on Democrats for not agreeing to pass a continuing resolution to keep the government funded. Democrats are against passing a funding plan that doesn’t extend the enhanced premiums tax credits that lower the costs of so-called Obamacare plans purchased through the federal health exchange (healthcare.gov).
The partisan impasse has resulted in a 27-day government shutdown, which began Oct. 1, the start of the federal fiscal year.
“The best way for SNAP to continue is for the shutdown to end. If not for Congressional Democrats blocking government funding, November SNAP benefits would be paid on-time,” the memo, first reported by Axios, notes.
SNAP has about $6 billion in contingency funds; $9 billion is needed to cover the costs of the program through November. But the federal memo says that SNAP contingency funds cannot be used to float the program during the shutdown.
Contingency funds “are only available to supplement regular monthly benefits when amounts have been appropriated for, but are insufficient to cover, benefits. The contingency fund is not available to support FY 2026 regular benefits, because the appropriation for regular benefits no longer exists,” the memo says.
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities President Sharon Parrott, a former official with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), says that’s not the case.
“Speaking as a former OMB official, I know from experience that the federal government has the authority and the tools it needs during a shutdown to get these SNAP funds to families. Even at this late date, the professionals at the Department of Agriculture and in states can make this happen. And, to state the obvious, benefits that are a couple of days delayed are far more help to families than going without any help at all,” Parrott said in a written statement.
“It would be unconscionable for the Administration to go out of its way to threaten millions of children, seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, parents, and workers with hunger, rather than taking all legal steps available to provide food assistance to people who need it.”
Florida Policy Institute senior policy analyst Cindy Huddleston told the Florida Phoenix that more than 70% of Florida SNAP beneficiaries are children, seniors, and people with disabilities. But the cuts impact more than families in need.
“But it also affects the bottom line of thousands of small businesses in Florida where SNAP participants shop. USDA, which already has the money to provide assistance to every family participating in SNAP for almost all of November, should release those funds immediately and also transfer other available funds so that those in need do not go hungry and local businesses can stay afloat,” she said in an email to the Phoenix.
The elimination of SNAP dovetails with the start of 2026 enrollment in the federal health exchange.
Florida leads the nation in Obamacare enrollment with more than 4.6 million residents.
Due to the elimination of the enhanced premium tax credits (and the damage that is expected to cause to enrollment) and increases in costs of prescription drugs, health insurance overall costs are going to increase.
Florida Office of Insurance Regulation Deputy Commissioner for Life and Health Alexis Bakofsy said earlier this month there would be an average 34% increase in premiums effective effect Jan. 1.
–Christine Sexton, Florida Phoenix
Pogo says
Welcome to the crash of 25′
Eat up, it’s all that there is.
David Schaefer says
And don’t forget the little man is building a $260 million tear down of the white house for himself.
Greg says
Thanks to the Democrats
Deborah Coffey says
Greg, when Donald Trump and the Republicans you voted for get finished with you, you won’t even have bootstraps left to pull yourself up with. It’s hard to believe you can’t see this. They couldn’t care less about your house, your job, your healthcare, your wages….
Mark says
Who’s in charge of the House, Senate and the convicted felon occupying space in the White House Greg. Don’t feed our own yet give Argentina $20 Billion Plus.
Cindy says
You got this wrong Greg, Trump can easily stop this
Skibum says
Greg, you had better give a lot of thanks to the democrats for standing up to the maga republi-cons and their big ugly bill that drastically increases health care costs for ALL Americans! The dems don’t want to see healthcare subsidies taken away from anyone, including republican constituents, and if not for their efforts, YOU, your family, your friends will all be paying a whole lot more for health insurance, if you can even afford it at all!!!
JimboXYZ says
4 years of grocery store inflation. Healthcare costs went up too under Biden-Harris. Biden was feeding the healthcare industry for record profits for premium increases alone. Procedures & OOP’s went up under Biden-Harris. Add that Homeowners Insurance, mortgages went up, interest rates went up. Biden did what Bush did that in 1 administration. Kept spinning those Delaware Lies that it was the soft landing. There just aren’t any bailouts this time around. Unaffordable healthcare, unaffordable housing, unaffordable seems to be the theme. Energy prices for gasoline & FPL increased under Biden. The water thing for Flagler County, all that Biden Build Back Better that was never funded.
Deborah Coffey says
Jimbo, you seem to forget this and the cause of inflation. One can only wonder where on Earth you get your news.
AI Overview
The United States entered a recession in February 2020, which coincided with Donald Trump’s presidency. This recession was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and was the shortest on record, officially lasting only two months before ending in April 2020.
Start of recession: February 2020, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).
Cause: The COVID-19 pandemic.
Duration: The shortest U.S. recession on record, lasting about two months.
End of recession: April 2020.
President at the time: Donald Trump.
Capt Bill Hanagan says
If you boil bootstraps long enough they’re not bad
Judith G. Michaud says
Disgraceful! I do not recognize my America! How dare that Felon take food and healthcare from people in need! He is spending millions destroying OUR White House and our country. How long before someone will stop his madness? Shame on the Republicans for allowing this to happen to our country! When will the people wake up ?
Laurel says
Judith G. Michaud: I’ll tell you how he dares. Nobody’s home. Hungry little children don’t vote; they don’t contribute to campaigns. They duck under their school desks to avoid shooters.
Maybe Trump will throw a ball for them in the new Trump Ballroom.
Ed P says
Doesn’t everyone know that the money to fund SNAP is not legally available during the shut down?
The ball room is paid in whole by donations, uses zero tax dollars. It is shameful that large state dinners have to held in tents or at off site locations. It’s actually, long over due.
3 quotes by democrats referencing the shutdown.
Oct 9 2025 Chuck Schumer’s notable quote: “every day gets better for us. “
Katherine Clark: “of course there will be families that are going to suffer…but it is one of the few leverage times we have. “
Chris Coons: “is our only moment of leverage,” “ a very unpleasant tool to use, it’s gotten us focused on what we have to do to change direction on health care.”
Senator Fetterman’s X post
“Americans are not any party’s leverage. Open our government to feed 42 million people on Snap.
Pay the Military plus our workers.
Pay the Capitol Police.
We can find a bipartisan way forward for ACA tax credits.
He’s been labeled an outlier. Imagine that.
Laurel says
So, the oligarchs who are paying for the “Trump Ballroom” don’t expect anything in return, right? They are all heart. Maybe personal time with the President of the United States? I know, I know, that stuff doesn’t happen with Trump. After all, Trump is donating his salary to charity, of some sort. “Working for free,” as some say.
“Since January 2025, Donald Trump and his family have reportedly made approximately $3.4 billion from various ventures, including cryptocurrency and other business activities linked to his presidency. This figure reflects profits generated during his current term in office.
– AI Assist, Yahoo, Democracy Now!
It pays to be close to the transactional President. A donation here and there, can lead to:
“Elon Musk’s net worth increased by about $70 billion following Donald Trump’s re-election, largely due to a significant surge in Tesla’s stock price, which rose approximately 39% shortly after the election. This surge translated to Musk making around $4 billion per day in the weeks following Trump’s victory. – AI Assist, CNBC, openingbelldailynews.com
Yeah, food stamps can be a little problem. Hungry American kids. Now much can be done about it by House Speaker Mike Johnson, he’s so tired from working overtime. See you in the ballroom, right? Maybe they’ll serve some hungry kids some government petit fours.
Oh, and before anyone starts anything about socialism, do y’all realize that Trump taking a slice of “free enterprise” company profit is communism? Look it up. That’s your boy.
Ed P says
Political donations should always be suspect. I agree.
There is usually an expected quid pro quo, but that doesn’t mean it’s illegal or an absolute. However, politicians are never immune from the pressure. But this time, Trump is not using his status to enrich himself but to deliver a 300 million dollar addition to the People’s House. The donors get a tax deduction and see exactly where their money will be spent. That might be enough. They stroke their own egos.
Remember the comments on the Qatar jet? It now resides with the Air Force. Oops.
If we all refrain from mixing apples with oranges and debate the policy issues we might find more in common than we think. What does Musk have to do with the thread?
The fact that SNAP funding should not be used as leverage is at the Democrats’ door step. Their rationale for not reopening the country is ridiculous. The Republicans can not do it themselves. They don’t have enough votes in the Senate.
The ACA issue can be simply extended until a bipartisan permanent solution is achieved. The Dems know that. Shameful that the most vulnerable are nothing more than cannon fodder in this battle.
Joe D says
Ed P….
That Qatar jet “currently residing with the Air Force” ( while it goes under multimillion taxpayer $$$ to refurbish to AIR FORCE ONE STANDARDS)…
And is it staying with the NEXT PRESIDENT for Air Force One use when TRUMP leave office?
NO!…
It gets “ donated” to the Trump Presidential Library, where Trump will have its PERSONAL USE as long as it’s serviceable. Now, within months of the “gift” ( bribe???), we will have a Qatar Air Force base on US soil in the MIDWEST USA!
The current trip to Asia by our illustrious COMMANDER IN CHIEF elicited a “Golden Crown” gift among other items for Trump ( per CNN 10/30/25) …( even foreign countries are in on the joke). So we’ll see if he follows White House protocols by putting the gift(s) in the Presidential Gift storage at the White House ( or wherever they are kept). I’m sure it’s over the maximum value of Presidential gifts he can PERSONALLY KEEP. He’s been documented to have kept MUCH MORE than the MAXIMUM value gifts from foreign countries in the past…and chalked it up to a MISUNDERSTANDING 🤣.
Ed P says
Joe D,
Any military aircraft is normally decommissioned and all communications /technology is stripped for security and espionage reasons prior to going to a presidential library or museum.
Your continued concern of Trump “stealing “ any jet for personal use is just nonsense.
However, some past Presidents have had to return items that should not have been “packed” up.
Joe D says
Exactly WHICH prior PRESIDENT continued use of a gifted commercial size aircraft ( specially outfitted or not) for their own personal use ( even through a “presidential library” or “museum”). AFTER THEY LEFT OFFICE?!? None that I recall? But PLEASE enlighten me…out of my supposed “NONSENSE.”
What is NONSENSE, is that (given the past severe HISTORICAL LIMITS on presidential gifts from foreign governments or business people) that the current Judicial Review on whether the gift was appropriate to accept, “okayed” the gift, and will allow Him to use it after he leaves office.
But then again, pretty much ANYTHING Donald wants, Donald gets! He just has to have his staff dig deep enough and far back enough to find a plausible LOOPHOLE to “justify it.”
Even some high ranking REPUBLICAN Senate members are joining with Democrats voting to reverse the RETALIATORY Tariffs on Brazil and new additional (“Reagan ad”retribution tariffs) on Canada stating the current international situation DID NOT rise to the level to justify use of the EMERGENCY POWERS ACT. But the Republican “Sheeple” in the House likely won’t allow it to be taken up for a vote there.
However, it does indicate that even among high ranking Republican lawmakers, they’ve had enough of “giving Donald whatever he wants just because he wants it.”
Even my 5 year old GRANDSON learned that when he was 4!
Ed P says
Joe D,
Did you read my response to your post? If so, you didn’t comprehend any of it.
You apparently simply reacted.
The prior President I referenced was President Clinton who had to return items and eventually pay about $86,000 for items he kept that were not his to take when he left office.
No one has or ever will personally use any military aircraft outfitted like air force 1 or 2. Do you realize that both of the presidential aircraft’s are over 30 years old. No one is going to decommission the newer Qatar jet when Trump leaves. It probably remains in service for another 20-30 years.
So yes you keep repeating nonsense about the jet.
The value of this disputed jet is about 350-400 million dollars…
Dollars that taxpayers don’t have to pay. Add another 300-350 for the ballroom and soon we are talking real money.
That’s what wealthy people do. They donate and fund raise even for the Federal Government.
Do you know who donated $130 million to the Pentagon to insure the military was paid during this current shutdown?
Timothy Mellon.
Go ahead, vilify the rich. Just more nonsense.
YankeeExPat says
” Let them eat Cake ! ”
Queen Marie-Antoinette 1765 —– reprise 2025 King Donald J. Trump
Me says
Greg needs to stop watching Fox because it is all propaganda lies. For a state that is mostly Republicans they sure don’t care about the people of Florida who will lose their food stamps to survive in a state that pays people the lowest wages in all of the states. The Republicans keep the people of the state poor while they rob them blind. Stop voting in these greedy selfish Republicans.
Dennis C Rathsam says
[Disallowed. Do not use this site to spread disinformation. Thanks.–FL]
Al says
The headline is written incorrectly. The headline should read. 20 MILLION PEOPLE WILL HAVE LIFE AS NORMAL COME NOVEMBER 1ST. The people on foodstamps need to get off their butts and go to work. Only a small number really deserve the help and those should get it not the freeloaders. Get a second job if needed and lower your cost of living by changing your lifestyle but feed your own family.
Pierre Tristam says
AI’s inhumanity prefers to ignore facts. About 70 percent of food stamps beneficiaries are children, elderly or disabled. Among the remaining 30 percent, the overwhelming majority work already.