Missouri to send partial food aid, but questions remain on when and how much

Laura Bauer, The Kansas City Star on Nov 5, 2025

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As the government shutdown continues, Missouri recipients of federal food assistance will soon receive partial benefits for the month of November, according to the Department of Social Services.

In a news release Wednesday afternoon, DSS announced that the state had received guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture which allowed for partial funding of this month’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.

The department said it would work “closely” with its EBT vendor to “ensure benefits are issued promptly.” No further clarity was provided.

Kansas Department for Children and Families has not released anything new on what recipients in the Sunflower state can expect after states received official guidance from the USDA on Tuesday. A DCF spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for information from The Star.

The release from the Missouri department said that more information on the timeline of what will happen next will be provided by DSS when it is available.

“Last week, we were prepared for the possibility that no benefits could be issued at all,” said DSS Director Jess Bax in the release. “While we recognize this is not a full restoration, this funding means Missouri families will be able to put food on the table.”

Bax went on to say that the department will continue to work with community partners across the state to “fill the gap until the shutdown is ended and funding is restored.”

The Family Assistance Management Information System (FAMIS) is not designed to issue partial payments, said Baylee Watts, a DSS spokesperson, in an email.

“While Missouri has never done this before, DSS is working diligently to process programming changes and testing in order to move forward with issuing the partial SNAP benefits,” Watts said. “Because of that, there are still a lot of moving pieces. Once testing is complete, DSS will work closely with our EBT vendor to issue benefits in a timely manner.

Benefit amounts will vary by household, she said, and are based on federal eligibility and benefit formulas.

“The USDA guidance involves multiple calculation factors, so it should not be interpreted as a uniform reduction,” Watts said. “Each household’s benefit amount is based on several factors — including income, household size, and expenses — so averages aren’t representative in this case."

Watt said there is “no anticipated change to how SNAP participants receive their benefits.”

“They will be loaded directly to each household’s EBT card as usual,” she said.

The USDA announced on its website last month that due to the shutdown, benefits would not go out the first of November like they normally do. Then the courts weighed in.

After two judges on Friday ordered the Trump administration to use emergency funds to keep the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (referred to as SNAP) flowing during the government shutdown, some funds were expected to be distributed in the coming days.

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