States must ‘undo’ actions providing full SNAP benefits, Trump administration says
- Mark Sabbatini
- 10 hours ago
- 2 min read
Alaska will proceed with plan to make partial food assistance payments, governor’s office says
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
This story has been updated with additional information.
The Trump administration is telling states to "immediately undo" actions intended to provide people with full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits during the federal government shutdown.
"States must immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025," a memo issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture late Saturday night states.
"Failure to comply with this memorandum may result in USDA taking various actions, including cancellation of the Federal share of state administrative costs and holding states liable for any overissuances that result from the noncompliance," the memo adds.
States may issue partial payouts of about 65% of the normal amount, according to the memo.
Alaska is proceeding with plans to make a partial payout using federal funds authorized for that purpose, Jeff Turner, a spokesperson for Gov. Mike Dunleavy, stated in a text message to the Juneau Independent on Sunday. The federal funds are distributed to states, which administer the program by processing applications and crediting benefits to residents via a debit-like card.
Dunleavy also last Monday issued an emergency declaration to pay out up to $10 million in state funds to SNAP recipients and food pantries. Turner said federal funds provided to the state will be distributed before state funds are tapped.
Full SNAP benefits for the state would cost roughly $27 million, far short of the amount approved by Dunleavy. However, he told legislative leaders in a letter that because the length of the federal shutdown is unknown he "will submit revised financing plans on a weekly basis if the federal shutdown continues or SNAP benefits are addressed by the federal government."
Also, a federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to make full SNAP payouts for November, which means Alaska would be reimbursed any money it paid out since the federal program is administered through state agencies. However, the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday put that order on hold pending an appeal.
Some states, including Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey, have taken actions to provide full SNAP benefits to recipients from state funds if necessary, according to Reuters. None of the states immediately responded to inquiries from that news agency about how they would respond to the Trump administration’s "undo" memo.
More than 66,000 Alaskans are eligible for SNAP benefits. Organizations in Juneau and other communities are hosting food drives, fundraisers, free meals and other efforts to assist people cut off from benefits or other otherwise affected by the federal shutdown.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
’
