Some 14,500 West Hills residents who might have missed their November nutrition assistance payments due to the federal government shutdown could see those benefits restored soon.
Gov. Josh Shapiro announced on Friday that his administration is acting to immediately issue November Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to Pennsylvanians who have missed a payment, consistent with a federal court’s ruling Thursday requiring the Trump Administration to release 100% of SNAP funds for all recipients nationwide.
According to Shapiro’s announcement, those payments were being processed and loaded onto Pennsylvanians’ electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards as of Friday afternoon so families across the commonwealth could buy food. Approximately $100 million worth of benefits had been sent to Pennsylvania’s SNAP vendor as of Friday afternoon, and benefits were actively being loaded onto EBT cards.
November 2025 SNAP benefits began being issued Friday morning, and benefits will continue to be loaded onto EBT cards over the next several days. SNAP recipients can check their EBT card balance with the ConnectEBT app or website, and the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) strongly encourages SNAP recipients to use ConnectEBT to keep their card locked when the card isn’t in use to protect their benefits from skimming or theft.
SNAP benefits are issued to eligible Pennsylvanians over the first 10 business days of the month. As of Friday evening, the Shapiro Administration expects to have issued benefits to Pennsylvanians who would usually receive them during the first seven days of the month.
“I want to thank our food banks, food pantries and every Pennsylvanian who has stepped up in some way to support our neighbors and communities,” said DHS Secretary Val Arkoosh.
“I am relieved we can issue November benefits, but there is still more work to do to ensure stability for December and beyond.”
Within the last week, Shapiro and his administration signed a disaster declaration, directing $5 million in state funding to Feeding Pennsylvania’s network of food banks to support the 2 million residents who rely on the SNAP. An estimated 160,000 individuals in Allegheny County receive SNAP benefits, with approximately 14,500 of them living the West Hills.
Shapiro also launched the SNAP Emergency Relief Fund, which has already raised more than $2 million in private donations to strengthen the Commonwealth’s charitable food network.
Shapiro joined 24 other states and Washington, D.C., in suing the Trump Administration for unlawfully suspending SNAP payments and failing to use billions in Congressionally approved contingency funds available to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
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