The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has taken center stage during the federal government shutdown. As the funding battle continues, a Minnesota lawmaker is questioning the state over its past SNAP payouts.

A DCYF spokesperson says the USDA agreed Friday to release that money, despite a U.S. Supreme Court order allowing the Trump administration’s pause on the benefits to continue.

Several Minnesota cities and counties are giving money to help local food shelves cover growing demand after federal food assistance guidelines have flip-flopped several times in the last week. About 440,

The news comes after the city of St. Paul started a food drive this week and other local governments worked to provide food for those in need.

Commissioner Tikki Brown said Tuesday the state’s EBT vendor stopped October benefits, and new coding requirements for the partial funding of SNAP could cause delays.

A compromise that could end the government shutdown hasn't stopped the confusion around feeding families in need. About 440,000 Minnesotans rely on SNAP benefits to get groceries each month. Many of them are children or seniors.

The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) is preparing to issue full SNAP benefit allotments for November over the weekend.

Minnesota officials are encountering multiple bureaucratic problems with issuing food-assistance benefits to families, even after two judges ordered the federal government to use contingency funds to make the benefits available despite the government shutdown.

Rural Minnesota communities are feeling the pinch as delayed SNAP benefits impact local grocery stores and the broader economy.

Delayed and reduced SNAP benefits in Minnesota are leaving families hungry and putting small-town grocery stores at risk as sales drop and local economies feel the strain.