Louisiana is suspending its temporary food aid program as snap benefits restart. The announcement comes a week after the creation of the temporary state program and just days after the first round of funding was sent out. As Louisiana Public Radio reports, when it wasn’t known if SNAP would be funded during the shutdown, the state agreed to use reserve funds and LDH money to create a state food assistance program for households with children, the elderly, and disabled people so they could receive benefits in November.
In an email, LDH confirmed it raised state-funded EBT assistance to eligible recipients on November 1st, 2nd, and 4th, as previously announced. However, it says it suspended the program after the USDA and the White House agreed to partially fund SNAP on a federal level during the government shutdown after a court order, earlier in the week.
A federal judge on Thursday, November 6, 2025, ordered President Trump’s administration to fully fund food aid for 42 million American SNAP recipients by Friday, blocking its plan to only provide reduced benefits during the government shutdown. That number of people is equivalent to about 1 in 8 Americans. SNAP is the nation’s largest food aid program.
It is considered a major component of the nation’s social safety net. It cost roughly $8 billion. LDH clarified that some state-funded benefits were distributed too early and hold back so that LDH could give all SNAP recipients, including able-bodied households a higher amount by the end of the week.
