North Dakotans to receive full SNAP benefits now that federal shutdown is over

North Dakota Health and Human Service said residents can expect to see Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program benefits issued as early as Monday now that the federal government shutdown has come to an end.

The shutdown ended Wednesday after 43 days. With its conclusion, HHS is working to ensure full benefits are issued, according to a Friday statement.

Households that received partial SNAP benefits on Nov. 7 will be issued their remaining benefits, and households that did not receive any benefit will be provided their full November issuance, HHS said.

SNAP funding ran out at the end of October and the Trump administration chose not to use emergency funds to keep the program going into November. A court order forced the administration to at least partially fund SNAP, resulting in some benefits being provided to some households on Nov. 7.

HHS said the SNAP benefits will be issued when “system updates” are completed, but North Dakotans could see funds on their EBT cards as soon as Monday evening. Funds can be viewed on the ebtEDGE mobile app, at ebtedge.com or by calling 1-800-630-4655.

Despite the end of the shutdown and the unfreezing of SNAP, Great Plains Food Bank spokesperson Darby Njos said there will be lingering effects for those impacted.

“For some people, it might take longer than others,” Njos said. “Even though their SNAP benefits are being restored, now they have to maybe pay on other bills or other necessities that got pushed back. And so while families are kind of figuring out how to distribute the money that they currently have, we’ll be here to support if anyone is in need of groceries.”

The Great Plains Food Bank — the state’s lone food bank — received an increase in monetary and food donations during the shutdown, including $915,000 from the state government and $440,000 in private donations. The money will not go to waste, Njos said.

The food bank plans to distribute 3.5 million pounds of food in November and December, which is a 60% increase from what it can normally distribute.

Prior to the government shutdown, Njos said, pantries partnered with the Great Plains Food Bank had communicated that food donations were down and that they were not getting the food they needed to feed their communities. The recent fundraising fixed that problem.

“This will just help make sure that our food is stocked, especially through the holidays,” Njos said. “Food is such a tradition for many people, and they’ll have access to different varieties of food that can better support them and their families and just make it less stressful.”

Even something as damaging as a government shutdown and the loss of SNAP benefits can spawn a positive change.

Fort Yates Public School Counselor Neal Tepper said the school had been considering starting a food pantry for some time, but the government shutdown was the final push needed to make it happen.

The school, which is on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, has partnered with the Great Plains Food Bank to start a school food pantry that will receive 1,500 pounds of food by the end of November, according to Tepper.

He said the supplies to create the food pantry are scheduled to arrive Nov. 20 and the pantry will be operational before December. The pantry is open to all North Dakotans.

”We’re anticipating even people from Bismarck and Mandan will come down,” Tepper said. “Certainly, Cannon Ball, Solen, Fort Yates, Selfridge — we’ll be serving the entire area.”

The pantry has already received funding to operate for the next five years, and it will provide food delivery to those who struggle with transportation, according to Tepper.

On top of the food pantry, Tepper said teachers are donating their time to offer hot meals and activities for kids on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the next three weekends. He said the activities and meals are open to all middle school students in the region, not just Fort Yates students.

”Back when I was growing up in the ‘50s, schools (were) the center of the community, and everything went on at the schools and the churches,” Tepper said. “We’ve kind of gotten away from that, and we’re trying to head back in that direction, and to make the school the center of the community ... So we’re trying to create an atmosphere with safety and a nice hot meal and providing better, healthy alternatives for kids.”

If the first three weekends go well, Tepper said, he hopes to continue offering the Saturday activities and meals going forward.