When will Idaho residents get SNAP benefits? Uncertainty fuels stress for families
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Federal SNAP pause and shutdown left 130,000 Idaho recipients facing uncertainty.
- Court ordered emergency funds; administration pledged partial payments delivery.
- Idaho food banks and other food assistance resources report spikes in demand.
When word spread that the country’s largest food assistance program would pause this month, Amanda Moynihan, a Kuna resident, bought canned goods and dried beans. She prepared large batches of soup and meals she could freeze for herself and her three kids, ages 10, 12 and 17. She purchased fewer fruits and vegetables, knowing she might need to stretch her money further.
On Monday, Moynihan, a single mom, said she had a few hundred dollars remaining from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits — sometimes referred to as food stamps — that she received in October. As a full-time Boise State student pursuing a bachelor’s in social work, those benefits mean she can feed her kids healthy meals every day, she said, while working toward her dream of opening up a mental health clinic.
SNAP made “the difference between eating and not eating,” she said.
When she’ll get the food assistance again, and how much she will receive, is still unclear. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers SNAP, said it would pause the program during the government shutdown that began in October. A day before those benefits were set to lapse, a judge ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to use emergency funds to keep the program going. On Monday, the administration said it will use nearly $5 billion of those funds to distribute partial payments.
But those benefits will likely be delayed as the state figures out how to dole out the payments, according to a court filing. USDA said in the filing that in some states, the system changes needed to provide the reduced payments could take “anywhere from a few weeks to up to several months.”
More than 130,000 Idaho residents receive the benefits. In response to several of the Idaho Statesman’s questions about the program, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare provided no information as of Thursday morning. In an email this week, the agency simply said it doesn’t have formal guidance at this time.
In an email, spokesperson AJ McWhorter said the department is “committed to keeping Idaho families informed and prepared.” McWhorter said the department would provide updates and information through its website and letters to providers and recipients. The last update on the website is from Oct. 21, advising people that the benefits would be delayed and directing the public to food banks and pantries.
In the meantime, food pantries and other food assistance resources have seen increased demand.
Kathy Holland, the director of health and nutrition at The Idaho Foodbank, said a food locator on its website has seen six times as much traffic as this time last year. The organization’s over 400 partners across the state — which include food pantries in communities and at schools — have also been seeing upticks in people using their services.
The Idaho Foodbank has upped deliveries to food pantries and mobile distributions and contracted additional transportation to help move the food faster, she said. The organization has also ramped up its food sourcing and has been sharing information on how people can donate, she said. But they can’t do it all, Holland added.
“We really rely heavily on programs like SNAP to help complement and provide that additional supplemental support for working families and folks with disabilities,” she said. “Our main goal right now is to help people know how that help is available and where to access that.”
Moynihan said she hopes to make the SNAP money she has last as long as possible, but if her funds run short, she will have to use a food pantry.
Before Moynihan first decided to go to college in 2022, she said she was working a 9-5 job and was barely making ends meet.
“I just wanted to prove to my children that you don’t have to stay within the box or limit that you’re in,” she told the Statesman.
She was initially reluctant to apply for SNAP benefits, because of the “stigma and shame” around it, she said. But an adviser encouraged her to use it so she could focus on her degree and being the best mother she could be.
She said she’s especially worried about other families. She told her kids that if they see their classmates without food at school, to share what they have.
How to access to food aid in your community
If you or someone you know needs help accessing food, text “food” to the National Hunger Hotline at 97779, call 1-866-3-HUNGRY or visit https://idahofoodbank.org/get-help/getfood/.
This story was originally published November 4, 2025 at 5:22 PM.
