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AZDES: No November food benefits due to government shutdown

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Published  October 23, 2025 9:53pm MST
Government Shutdown
FOX 10 Phoenix

The Brief

    • The Arizona Department of Economic Security (AZDES) announced that it cannot disburse November nutrition assistance (SNAP) benefits due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, following instruction from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
    • Approved participants will not receive their food benefits until federal funding is released to the states, though AZDES confirmed it will continue to accept and process applications for the SNAP program.

PHOENIX - The Arizona Department of Economic Security (AZDES) says it cannot provide nutrition assistance in November, also known as SNAP, due to the federal government shutdown.

AZDES confirmed on Oct. 23 that November benefits will not be disbursed following instruction from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA), which runs the program.

Dig deeper:

The USDA describes SNAP as providing "food benefits to low-income families to supplement their grocery budget so they can afford the nutritious food essential to health and well-being."

Below is the full statement from AZDES:

"Due to instruction from the United States Department of Agriculture, the Arizona Department of Economic Security will be unable to provide Nutrition Assistance (NA or SNAP) benefits in November until further notice from the USDA. Approved participants of the SNAP program will be unable to collect November benefits until federal funding is released to states. DES will continue to accept and process applications for SNAP. Additional information will be provided as the situation changes."

What you can do:

For food/nutritional assistance, click here to access the Arizona Food Bank Network

The Source

  • The Arizona Dept. of Economic Security, the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture

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