About 12% of Americans began the week waiting to find out if they would receive federal food assistance in November, the first time it was in question since the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) began more than 60 years ago.
The Trump administration has been ordered by two courts to provide the funding, but it was unclear how soon people would begin receiving their food stamps and how much they would or wouldn't get.
In the last week of October, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it did not believe it had the authority to provide SNAP benefits in November because of the ongoing government shutdown.
The Trump administration said Nov. 3 that it planned to partially fund food aid for millions of Americans after two judges ruled it must use contingency funds to pay for the benefits in November.
It could take days, if not a week or more, for the money to arrive.
