If you get food stamps, you will get partial payments, so you might not be able to afford lobster, steak, or shrimp. Just eat beans rice and cheap neck bones
As the federal government shutdown continues, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services received guidance from the United States Department of Agriculture to issue partial benefits for November 2025 to the nearly 1.4 million in North Carolina who rely on food stamps. But that was only after democratic Attorney General Jeff Jackson sued the federal government to issue food stamps from an emergency fund.
The state is updating its payment system according to USDA’s specifications to prepare to issue food stamp payment benefits. Click here to see more Food Stamp news.
If federal funding is provided this week as expected, NCDHHS expects all partial benefits to be loaded onto EBT cards by next week, so beneficiaries should check the balances on their cards often.
This follows USDA’s statement it would use $4.65 billion in emergency funds to cover about half of the federal food stamp SNAP program for the month of November 2025 in response to a lawsuit filed by North Carolina and 24 other states.
NC Governor Josh Stein says:
“Families around our state are waiting to see if they’re going to be able to afford groceries. I thank DHHS for working to get them out the door as quickly as possible. But these half measures from our federal government aren’t enough. It’s past time to give North Carolinians their peace of mind back.”
At the beginning of November, more than 60% of beneficiaries had $25.00 or less on their accounts and more than 30% had less than $1.00. The median balance on EBT cards was $5.43.
Food Stamp SNAP beneficiaries will receive a reduction in benefits for November that will vary depending on the amount they usually receive. The USDA has directed NCDHHS and other states to issue November 2025 benefits at a 50% reduction of maximum allotments.
