Mississippians who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to help with food costs will soon begin receiving partial payments after weeks of uncertainty, the Mississippi Department of Human Services announced Monday afternoon.
The payments, which will begin arriving today, will be for up to 65% of Mississippi SNAP beneficiaries’ expected November allotments, based on guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, MDHS says.
“Benefit amounts have been set by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, not MDHS,” the press release says. “SNAP benefits are issued on a rolling basis between the 4th and the 21st of each month. Those recipients who typically receive their benefits between the 4th and 10th of the month will be included in the upcoming issuance of benefits as early as November 10. All other recipients will receive their benefits on their regularly scheduled issuance date.”
SNAP payments had been delayed amidst the federal government shutdown. U.S. Senate Republican leaders struck a deal with a group of Democrats to begin unwinding the shutdown on Sunday, but full SNAP benefits will not be released until sometime after the government reopens.
“Once FNS authorizes the remaining 35 percent of November benefits, MDHS will announce an issuance schedule. Please continue to monitor and follow official MDHS channels for the latest information,” MDHS says.
While efforts to reopen the government are ongoing, the Trump administration is continuing to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to block lower court orders that would require the administration to fully fund SNAP.
MDHS is warning of an increasing potential for fraud and theft of SNAP benefits. MDHS can no longer replace stolen SNAP benefits after Congress last year allowed a program to expire that replaced SNAP benefits stolen by card skimming, card cloning and other forms of fraud.
In its press release, MDHS advises recipients to do the following:
- Register for a Connect EBT account and save ConnectEBT to their cell phone home screen and change their PIN after every use to reduce their risk of fraud and skimming. (See TUTORIAL)
- Monitor all account transactions and report any suspicious activity to MDHS. https://www.mdhs.ms.gov/help/snap/snap-fraud/
- Ensure all case information is current to avoid interruptions in benefits.
- Follow MDHS social media channels for the latest updates on additional benefit funding and program announcements.
More information is available at www.mdhs.ms.gov.