For some states, the SNAP (Supplemental National Assistance Program) schedule has been a mess since the most recent government shutdown.
As The Inquisitr previously reported, states all across the U.S. made plans to release February food stamp benefits early because they weren’t sure when they would see additional funding for future food stamp payments. The problem with releasing the food stamp benefits early is many families struggled to budget their food money properly and ended up running out of food stamps weeks before they were scheduled to receive additional benefits.
In an effort to combat the improperly budgeted food stamps, many states across the U.S. also made the decision to release March benefits early . Most states set up their own schedule for when they released their benefits to balance residents running out of money and helping them make it until when their April benefits would pay out.
A few months have passed and residents in many states continue to struggle with the altering of the food stamp benefit release schedule. For this reason, a few states have made the decision to release April benefits early as well.
According to WAVY-TV , some residents of North Carolina will join the list of food stamp recipients who will be receiving their food stamp payments early for the month of April. North Carolina health officials confirmed that residents who typically receive their SNAP benefits between April 1 and April 11 can expect their benefits to release on their usual date.
? Don’t Forget: April’s SNAP benefits will be issued on April 12th. Benefits will resume their regular schedule in May. pic.twitter.com/Pe5mgIenY2
— MDHS (@MS_DHS) March 20, 2019
North Carolina residents who do not typically receive their benefits until the second half of the month are scheduled to receive their SNAP benefits on April 12. The state of North Carolina, however, does plan on returning to a normal release schedule for May. So, they are encouraging residents to do what they can to properly budget their SNAP benefits next month.
SNAP recipients to receive April benefits on modified schedule after partial government shutdown — https://t.co/vp1ux9SpeY #Louisiana #news pic.twitter.com/B6WfORBq0E
— KTVE – KARD (@MyArkLaMiss) March 19, 2019
According to an earlier report by WQAD 8 , the state of Illinois also planned to release April benefits early.
Fox 17 reported last month that the state of Michigan also had plans to release April benefits to SNAP recipients early.
Other states, such as Ohio and Indiana, which released both February and March benefits early, plan to return to normal release schedules for the month of April.
#BREAKING : DCFS: LA #SNAP Benefits to be issued on modified schedule for April https://t.co/SsCHBvoQ5T
— KSLA News 12 (@KSLA) March 19, 2019
SNAP recipients receiving April benefits early are being encouraged to use caution and budget their food money properly as there are no plans across any of the states to release May benefits early.
