Tennessee will start issuing partial Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits this month.
The Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS) announced on Wednesday that it will be giving out 65 percent of SNAP benefits to people.
TDHS said people scheduled to receive benefits between November 1 and November 12th will receive them on November 12th.
Furthermore, SNAP recipients who receive benefits after November 12th will receive their partial benefits on their regularly scheduled date, TDHS said.
The distribution of government assistance follows updated guidance from the United States Department of Agriculture.
Patrick Penn, the USDA under secretary, said in a memo to all state agencies responsible for administering SNAP benefits that if they don’t follow the new guidance, the federal government may withhold federal funding.
If the SNAP benefits had not been administered in Tennessee, it would have affected 691,000 people, including 268,000 children, the White House Council of Economic Advisers noted.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court extended an order that says the Trump administration does not need to fully administer food stamps while the government is closed.
The House is expected to vote on Wednesday on the continuing resolution that the Senate passed on Monday. This means that the record-breaking government shutdown could soon come to an end. If the House passes the continuing resolution, then it will be sent to President Donald Trump’s desk.
The president said this week that he will sign the continuing resolution.
Last week, Gov. Bill Lee allocated $5 million in state funds to go to food banks to help people facing delays in their SNAP benefits. Before this, Lee created feedtn.org with the help of hundreds of community and faith organizations to help these Tennesseans as well.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at zschmidt1717@gmail.com.|
