As a result of a blocked budget, the US government has been shut down for over a month, which meant that funding for the federal program that pays out food stamps to those in need – who make up just over 12 percent of the entire US population – expired on Saturday.
Last week, however, two federal judges in Boston and Rhode Island, respectively, announced that the government must continue to fund the program.
Now the government says the payment will be financed through a reserve fund. But how much money the recipients will receive is unclear – the fund is worth the equivalent of 44 billion kronor, which is only enough to cover about half of the amounts normally paid out.
It is also not clear when the money can reach those in need; payments for November have already been delayed for millions of people.
