Kentuckians should see SNAP benefits available on their cards Saturday
Kentucky recipients of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, should see their benefits available on their cards “as soon as today,” Gov. Andy Beshear’s office said Saturday morning.
Beshear said state employees worked through the night to release the grocery funding.
“Once again, members of Team Kentucky worked through the night to process SNAP benefits to ensure their fellow Kentuckians didn’t have to wait a minute longer to receive the support they need to feed their loved ones,” Beshear said in a statement.
Funding for SNAP lapsed Nov. 1 because of the federal government shutdown, and President Donald Trump’s administration said it would not fund the program. Kentucky was among a number of states that sued over the funding, and the issue was volleyed about in the court system.
“Despite the President’s refusal to release these benefits, Kentucky has remained committed to doing everything we can to be there for our neighbors,” Beshear said in the statement Saturday. “Our government should fight hunger – not cause it – and we’re committed to leading with our values and doing what’s right.”
On Thursday, partial payments were released in Kentucky, where early 600,000 residents rely on the benefits.
The shutdown has now ended, and SNAP is funded through September 2026 under the bill passed by Congress to reopen the government.
However, changes enacted as part of the Trump administration’s Big Beautiful Bill could still mean a loss of SNAP benefits for more than 100,000 Kentuckians, according to an assessment by the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy.
Adults between the ages of 18 and 64 will have to show they are working, volunteering or in school in order to receive SNAP, which is also sometimes referred to as food stamps.
The bill also put more of the responsibility for paying for SNAP’s administrative costs on the states.
