SNAP

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont plans to spend about $167.9 million from the state’s recently created $500 million contingency fund to backstop federal cuts to safety net programs.

The Trump administration has given states until next week to submit personal information about SNAP recipients — or risk losing federal funding for the program.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is threatening to withhold money for food stamps from 20 states, including Connecticut and New York, for refusing to share personal information about recipients.

Funding for SNAP has been allocated, paused, reinstated, and canceled again multiple times, straining local food pantries and the state agencies that scrambled to lessen the impact on hungry residents.

Governor Ned Lamont said he’s instructed the state Department of Social Services to reload residents' EBT cards. The money is expected to be available next week.

The government has been shut down since October 1. There hasn’t been much progress among lawmakers to solve it, though that may change now that President Donald Trump has said Republicans are suffering politically.

The Trump administration says it’ll only partially fund the nation’s SNAP benefits this month, following a court order to do so. The head of a Bridgeport, Connecticut-based food pantry said that it won’t be enough.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has agreed with state lawmakers to use up to $500 million in state surplus to offset some of the federal funding cuts.

The state is expected to have an additional $2.6 billion in tax revenue thanks largely to a better-than-expected year on Wall Street.

Efforts to feed people who rely on federal food assistance in Connecticut are underway during interruptions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). No new benefits will be available starting November 1, as the government shutdown continues.