This article is from Tennessee Lookout

Tennessee officials will begin distributing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, giving recipients 65% of their expected November payment.

The Tennessee Department of Human Services said in a news release that SNAP recipients who were expected to receive their payment during the first 12 days of November would receive that partial payment Wednesday. 

Recipients who receive their payments later in the month will also receive 65% of their benefit. The department news release said if they are directed to provide the full payment at a later date officials will. 

As the federal government shutdown dragged into November, President Donald Trump’s administration decided to withhold all SNAP payments. The program to help feed the state’s poorest residents covers about 700,000 Tennesseans and costs $145 million a month. 

The SNAP funding freeze led to a surge in demand for local food banks and impacted residents all across the state. 

On Sunday, the U.S. Senate passed a funding bill that is expected to end the 54-day government shutdown. The U.S. House will take up the funding bill Wednesday. 

_ Adam Friedman