People who receive SNAP food assistance in Oregon will see benefits loaded into their accounts on Friday, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek announced.
“As of this morning, Oregon families are beginning to access their full November SNAP benefits restored on their Oregon Trail Cards,” Kotek said in a statement Friday. “This means all Oregonians receiving SNAP will have their full monthly benefit available now, regardless of their usual payment schedule.”
This happened in Oregon despite the ongoing national court battle.
On Thursday, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to distribute full SNAP benefits despite the government shutdown.
Following Thursday’s ruling, Oregon’s Department of Human Services immediately started working to secure and distribute federal funds to hit the EBT cards of the more than 700,000 Oregonians that receive SNAP.
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture sent a memo to states that it would make funds available in compliance with the federal judge’s order.
But also on Friday, Trump officials asked a federal appeals court to block the ruling. As of 1 p.m., the appeals court had not responded to Trump’s request.
Bryan Perkins, 46, of Medford, has been following the court case closely.
Perkins enrolled in SNAP a year and a half ago, when end-stage kidney disease forced him to stop working and start dialysis treatment three times a week, while he waits for a donor kidney.
The treatment leaves him hungry, and his condition means he has to manage his weight carefully.
“That’s the one thing I can control, the healthy food I can put into my body,” he said.
On Thursday, Perkins called the automated customer service line every couple of hours to see if any money had been credited to his EBT account.
Perkins says at 1 a.m. Friday, his full monthly SNAP benefit of $298 dollars showed up on his card.
Perkins says he pulled his clothes on and drove to Winco, the value grocery store that’s open 24-7. In the middle of the night, he filled his cart with probiotic yogurt, chicken, hamburger meat and fruit.
“I was walking on eggshells, cause I didn’t think it would come through,” he said. “I was trying to come up with backup plans, selling stuff in the home for extra food money, that kind of thing. I’m glad nothing came to that.”
Perkins says he’s relieved to have his benefit restored for now. He’s also grateful to neighbors and strangers who brought him food this week after he posted on Nextdoor that he was running out.
But Trump’s staunch opposition to paying for the benefits while the government remains shut down worries him.
“He’s using this as a political tool, in the future. I don’t think this battle is done,” he said.
Kotek said the Trump administration’s decision to withhold food assistance from families in need was cruel and unlawful.
“Oregonians shouldn’t have to wait for a court order to get the help they qualify for and need,” Kotek said. “I’m grateful to the federal courts for upholding the law and to our state teams who worked through the night to make sure every Oregon family relying on SNAP could buy groceries today and through the weekend.”
Linda Simon, 70, plans to use her reloaded EBT card to buy milk, bread and the ingredients for a pot of vegetable soup.
“It’s a lifeline for me to use those benefits,” the Eugene resident said.”I was devastated to hear when the government shutdown that I was going to lose them. I lost hope – and so this news was just amazing to me.”
Simon has relied on SNAP benefits for around a decade to help make ends meet. Currently, she gets $133 per week.
She says the back and forth over whether she would get her November benefits has weighed heavily on her mind the last couple weeks. She felt tired and was losing motivation to do normal activities, such as take a walk
“Now I feel a little more energized,” Simon said. “I feel like I got a dopamine hit in my brain. It’s a bit of good news, and I’ll take it.”
Last Wednesday, Kotek declared a hunger emergency and authorized $5 million in available funds to help emergency food pantries. On Thursday, the governor announced $1 million to Tribal governments for emergency assistance. Oregonians receive about $142 million per month in federal SNAP benefits.
People who have funds on their EBT cards can use those benefits, even as the shutdown and the national court battle continue.
Oregon DHS urged SNAP recipients to check their EBT card balances before shopping for groceries.
Visit the Oregon Department of Human Services website for more information.
Meanwhile, other states including Wisconsin have also started distributing the payments.
The ongoing court battle adds to weeks of uncertainty for the food program, which serves about one in eight Americans.
