UPDATE: November SNAP Benefits
UPDATE 11/18/2025: Virginia has confirmed that full November SNAP benefits should be issued on the following timeline:
- Households that did not receive Virginia Emergency Nutrition Assistance (“VENA”) benefits—households that were approved for SNAP benefits after October 29—should have received full SNAP benefits on Saturday, November 15. For those households that did receive VENA benefits earlier this month, they should have received partial SNAP benefits on November 13. The remainder of their SNAP benefits should be issued today, November 18.
- SNAP benefits are not affected by VENA benefits, so you should receive your full SNAP benefits for November, whether or not you received VENA benefits. Importantly, you are not required to pay back any VENA benefits you received, even after you receive your full SNAP benefits for the month.
- December benefits should be issued as normal, on the 1st, 4th, or 7th of the month. If you do not receive your November or December SNAP benefits, or you receive a lower amount than you were expecting, reach out to your local legal aid office right away. You can find contact information for the LAJC offices on our Get Help page.
UPDATE 11/13/2025: Late last night (11/12/2025), the President signed into law a continuing resolution to provide temporary funding to reopen the federal government while negotiations on a final budget bill continue. The continuing resolution provides funds for nutrition programs (including SNAP and WIC) through September 30, 2026. This means that December SNAP benefits should be issued as normal, and even if the government were to shut down again between now and September 2026, SNAP and WIC funding should still be available. The continuing resolution’s funding for SNAP should also resolve much of the litigation around funding November 2025 SNAP benefits.
We are still waiting to learn details about how and when households should expect to receive full SNAP benefits for November 2025. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (the agency responsible for administering SNAP) has stated that it will issue guidance to states within 48 hours of the government reopening, so check back here for updates.
Now that federal funding is available and SNAP benefits should begin to be issued as normal, the Virginia Emergency Nutrition Assistance effort (“VENA”) will end. VENA was a state-funded emergency food benefit issued during the first week of November to assist households that typically receive SNAP benefits. We are waiting to hear from the Virginia government what to expect if households have any unused VENA benefits still available on their EBT cards. Check back here for updates.
Note: While the government was shutdown, Virginia began implementing some changes to SNAP eligibility associated with a law that Congress passed earlier this year. For more information on those changes and how they may impact your SNAP benefits is available here. If you do not receive your November or December SNAP benefits, or you receive a lower amount than you were expecting, reach out to your local legal aid office right away. You can find contact information for the LAJC offices on our Get Help page.
