SNAP benefits paid, DPHHS confirmed

Keila Szpaller

(Daily Montanan) All Montanans eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, have received 100% of their benefit as of Saturday, the state Department Public Health and Human Services confirmed Monday.

Roughly 77,000 Montanans are eligible for the food assistance, and the average household in Montana receives $332 a month, according to data from DPHHS.

But families received their benefits late this month.

Politicians used SNAP benefits as a negotiating tool in the recent federal shutdown, according to Western Native Voice, a Montana nonprofit with a government relations director in Washington, D.C.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture directed states to withhold SNAP payments, sparking concern in Montana among families and at food banks preparing for a surge of customers.

In Montana, 63% of SNAP participants are families with children, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

The loss of payments for food led the City-County of Butte-Silver Bow to declare a local emergency and its commissioners to pass a resolution to use $183,974 to alleviate food insecurity in the community.

After multiple directives to states, the USDA called Thursday for full benefits to be paid following the end of the federal shutdown.

The bill to end the shutdown funds the government through Jan. 30, but SNAP benefits are funded until the end of September 2026, according to National Public Radio.

Guidance from the USDA said states should prepare for another shutdown as soon as next October by “upgrading systems to allow for partial payments,” States Newsroom’s Washington, D.C., bureau reported.