Urges Court to Immediately Restore SNAP Funding for More Than 65,000 Vermonters
Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark today joined a coalition of 22 other attorneys general and three governors in filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its Secretary Brooke Rollins for unlawfully suspending the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which helps more than 40 million Americans buy food, due to the ongoing federal government shutdown. The coalition argues that suspending SNAP benefits in this manner is both contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act and it will be filing a temporary restraining order later today asking the court to immediately restore SNAP benefits.
“Denying SNAP funding for millions of Americans, when Congress created a contingency plan to ensure no American goes hungry is illegal and it is cruel,” said Attorney General Clark. “SNAP was created to help feed our neighbors in hard times. I’m suing the Trump Administration to protect Vermonters so that no one goes hungry.”
On October 1, 2025, the new federal fiscal year began without an appropriation by Congress to fund the federal government, creating a “government shutdown.” On October 10, USDA sent a letter to state SNAP agencies saying that if the shutdown continues, there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits for the approximately 42 million individuals across the country that rely on them.
Despite USDA’s claim of insufficient funds, the agency has access to billions of dollars in SNAP-specific contingency funds appropriated by Congress for this very purpose. Furthermore, USDA has funded other programs with emergency funds during this shutdown, but has refused to fund SNAP, leaving millions of Americans without the assistance they need to buy food. It is clear the federal government is making a deliberate, illegal, and inhumane choice not to fund the crucial SNAP program.
The lapse in benefits will have dire consequences for the health and well-being of millions across the country, who rely on the program to feed themselves and their families. This lapse will also put unnecessary strain on state and local governments and community organizations, as families increasingly rely on emergency services and local food pantries that are already struggling to fill a growing nutrition gap.
It will affect school systems and college and university communities, where food insecurity will stand in the way of educating students. Suspending SNAP benefits will also harm the hundreds of thousands of grocers and merchants that accept SNAP payment for food purchases across the country. USDA has estimated that in a slowing economy, every $1 in SNAP benefits generates $1.54 in economic activity.
An average 65,109 Vermonters receive SNAP benefits each month to meet their basic subsistence and nutritional needs. This amounts to an infusion of approximately $12.6 million per month into Vermont’s food economy and the over 600 merchants in Vermont who accept SNAP benefits. Each day in which A delay in SNAP benefits are delayed will result in statewide food insecurity for some of the most vulnerable Vermonters. Families will be forced to scramble for alternatives, including possibly going into debt or skipping meals entirely.
A sudden lack of benefits for otherwise eligible individuals and families will have devastating consequences on the public health in Vermont and downstream effects on other safety net programs. It will cause an unprecedented reliance on already overwhelmed food banks that will simply not be able to meet the significant surge in demand. SNAP is also an economic driver for local businesses; over 600 merchants in Vermont accept SNAP benefits, and a sudden loss of benefits will have immediate economic impacts on farmers, grocers, and other retailers and vendors who provide essential services in Vermont’s rural economy.
Joining Attorney General Clark in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. The Governors of Kansas, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania have also joined.
A copy of the lawsuit is available on our website.
This lawsuit is the 32nd case overall that Attorney General Clark has brought against the Trump Administration since President Trump took office in January. For more information on actions taken by the Attorney General on behalf of Vermonters, visit our website at https://ago.vermont.gov/ago-actions.
10.28.2025. MONTPELIER, Vt. – Attorney General
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