Some Mainers woke up to money on their EBT cards Monday after Gov. Janet Mills directed the state health department to distribute Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
It comes after a group of lawmakers, including Maine Independent Senator Angus King and Republican Senator Susan Collins voted to advance a spending package that could end the 40-day-long government shutdown.
Uncertainty over whether or not SNAP benefits would be issued for the month of November put pressure on food pantries, small businesses and faith organizations to keep their communities fed.
“Thanks to the quick action of my administration, full benefits to eligible SNAP beneficiaries in Maine began flowing this morning — a move firmly supported by the courts,” Gov. Janet Mills said in a statement Monday. “Withholding these benefits was a cruel and callous decision by the Trump Administration, and it should not have taken a court to deliver them — but I will do whatever is necessary to stand up for Maine people.”
Meanwhile, the Trump Administration is continuing to fight a court ruling requiring full SNAP benefits be paid for November, despite the new efforts to end the shutdown.
'Whiplash for everyone involved'
SNAP is the nation's largest food-security program, with approximately 42 million individuals receiving benefits, including about 170,000 Mainers or over 12% of the state's total population.
In Maine, the average monthly SNAP benefit for a family of four is $572. Seventy-five percent of SNAP households include at least one working adult, more than half include a person with a disability and more than one-third include children.
The benefits also make up significant revenue for small, rural grocery stores and food vendors. SNAP recipients accounted for over $750,000 in sales at Maine farmers' markets in 2024 according to the Maine Federation of Farmers Markets.
The funding pause for food assistance programs was at the center of debates surrounding the government shutdown. In October, a group of Democratic Attorney Generals, including Maine's Aaron Frye, sued the Trump Administration in an effort to fund the program through November.
The Trump Administration agreed to make partial payments with a 35% reduction but U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr. in Rhode Island directed the administration to make full payments.
The administration is still fighting McConnell Jr.'s ruling as of Monday.
Throughout recent weeks, advocates say the state has been sent multiple conflicting messages from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Rural Development over whether or not to release SNAP benefits.
"This has been a roller coaster," said Alex Carter of Maine Equal Justice. "It's been, whiplash for everyone involved, including the state administrators who have been trying to keep up. But most of all, for families who had to wake up thinking, 'is this the day I'm going to get my benefits? Am I going to be able to feed my family next week?'"
Maine Equal Justice is a legal aid nonprofit that focuses on food insecurity. Carter, a policy advocate, said the return of food assistance is something to be celebrated.
But beyond the short-term impact of funds being cut off due to the government shutdown, changes to SNAP in “The One Big Beautiful Bill Act” will eliminate an estimated $187 billion in federal spending from SNAP through 2034.
Kelsey Kobic is the Communications Coordinator for the Maine Federation of Farmers Markets.
She said the Trump Administration has shown little interest in bolstering support for food assistance programs but is willing to "treat the most vulnerable people in our communities as a bargaining chip."
"We still don't really know what's going to happen, and as we've seen, things can change very quickly," Kobic said. "The government could have funded snap during the shutdown too, but that's not what happened."
After more than a dozen previous failed attempts, the Senate voted 60-40 late Sunday to advance a resolution to temporarily fund the federal government that had been passed by the House in September.
Most Democrats opposed the move because it does not guarantee that Congress will extend health care subsidies under the ACA.
