The USDA told grocery stores not to give SNAP recipients special discounts as benefits remain unpaid amid the government shutdown.

Federal funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, used by 42 million Americans, is set to run dry on Saturday as the U.S. government shutdown continues.

An average of 41.7 million people, or 12.3 % of the U.S. population, received SNAP benefits each month in Fiscal Year 2024, according to the USDA. October 2025 reports indicate that about 42 million Americans participate in SNAP monthly.

The national food aid program known as SNAP ran out of federal money Saturday due to the government shutdown, leaving the millions of Americans who rely on those benefits to buy food scrambling.

President Donald Trump’s administration faces deadlines on Monday to tell two federal judges whether it will comply with court orders that it continue to fund the nation’s biggest food aid program usi

The megabill further shuttered the SNAP-Ed, a federally funded grant program that "helps people make their SNAP dollars stretch, teaches them how to cook healthy meals, and lead physically active lifestyles," according to the program's website. Funding for SNAP-Ed ended Oct. 1.

One in eight Americans use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, the nation's biggest food aid program, but its halt will disproportionately hurt Black Americans. Black people make up 13.

Around 145,000 Baltimoreans enrolled in SNAP — over 25% of the city’s population — will lose benefits after federal food aid ceases on Nov. 1.

On Friday, President Trump signaled he would fund SNAP if pointed in “the appropriate legal direction” after a federal judge directed officials to use an emergency fund for the program.