The Vermont Emergency Board's approved plan will reportedly fund the first 15 days of November SNAP/3SquaresVT benefits.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which oversees SNAP, said there will not be enough funding to give enrolled Americans their food benefits next month. More than 64,000 Vermont residents will not receive their SNAP funds in November (referred to as 3SquaresVT within the state).

Officials agreed to provide food benefits for low income residents for two weeks as shutdown drags on, and may extend that further.

It's our obligation at this point as states to do what we can for the people we serve,” Gov. Phil Scott said after the meeting. “This is a basic benefit that many, many Vermonters rely on.”

The Vermont Emergency Board approved state funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits despite the ongoing federal government shutdown on Wednesday. The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program,

AG Clark says that “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."

The president has created a new crisis,” Attorney General Charity Clark said Tuesday. “The best case scenario is that (he) comes to his senses … and does what Congress asked him to do.”

While Vermont will use emergency funds to extend SNAP temporarily in November, migrant and food advocates are raising other concerns about the federal program. On Thursday, they testified before the House Committee on Human Services with a discussion focusing mostly on SNAP changes that are now law in President Donald Trump's "big,