PHILADELPHIA — About $100 million in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits started reaching Pennsylvanians Friday in a major victory for Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration.

Shapiro, at a news conference Friday at North Philadelphia’s Share Food, credited Department of Human Services Secretary Val Arkoosh for acting immediately “when the Trump administration didn’t move quickly enough in court” in its latest efforts to block funds.

Whether the Trump administration will successfully block the remaining $266 million due to Pennsylvania in November SNAP benefits remains unclear.

The latest development in the SNAP fight, part of the fallout of the longest federal government shutdown in history, comes as Pennsylvanians flock to food pantries and grocers that accept the benefits, describing plummeting business.

A coalition of 25 Democratic attorneys general and governors, as well as religious groups and nonprofits, sued the Trump administration in Rhode Island and Massachusetts federal courts.

U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr. handed a huge victory to plaintiffs in the Rhode Island case Thursday during an emergency hearing. He ordered the administration to pay November benefits in full.

Ready for such an order, Arkoosh immediately went to the vendors that distribute the federal funds and got them to begin processing benefits, said Shapiro.

Taking advantage of that window appears to have been key in getting benefits to start flowing to Pennsylvanians. Although the Shapiro administration said the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved the move, by Friday, the Trump administration sought to reverse the federal court order that called for November benefits to be paid in full.

While warning SNAP recipients that they were “not out of the woods,” Shapiro asked the administration to do the right thing and “give up.”

“You’re going to lose again in court,” said Shapiro. “The only thing you’re fighting for is to make Americans hungry. I don’t know why you want to do that, but this is where we are in America today.”

Shapiro also harshly criticized Vice President JD Vance Friday, calling his handling of the halt in SNAP payments “shameful,” and evidence that he is a “phony.”

”When I see hungry people in my state who are hungry because of JD Vance’s b — politics, that makes me angry," Shapiro. “Americans deserve better than JD Vance.”

Shapiro’s sharp rebuke of Vance came after comments the vice president made calling Thursday’s judgment “absurd.”

”We can’t have a federal court telling the president how he has to triage the situation," Vance said of the ruling.

Shapiro in particular appeared to take offense at Vance’s stance because of what the governor called his rise “to some prominence” with the publication of the 2016 memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis." The book deals with Vance’s formative years growing up in Appalachia, where, Shapiro said, “a whole lot of people who get SNAP.”

”He made millions of dollars on the backs of telling their stories, and then he turned his damn back on those very people who he likes to write about and claim as his own," Shapiro said.

Also at issue for Shapiro Friday was Vance’s portrayal of himself as a “person of faith,” as the governor put it. The governor appeared to admonish Vance with a paraphrased quote of Deuteronomy 15:7, a Bible verse that encourages the devout to “not be hardhearted or tightfisted” toward the less fortunate.“

“For JD Vance now to turn around after claiming all these things his whole life, and literally go to court to stop hungry people from eating — that is not only phony, it is shameful, and this is who is leading America today,” Shapiro said.

SNAP freeze felt by the most vulnerable families and businesses that serve them.

For Tamia Walker, whose diet has consisted of mostly oatmeal and ramen noodles since the SNAP freeze in order to “stretch” the good meals for her children, confusion remained. Out of the $422 she typically receives for her five children, she only received by $60 Friday afternoon.

Although Shapiro administration officials couldn’t speak to her case directly, the governor said some people might not see benefits on their card if their replenishment date wasn’t set until later in the month. Walker’s isn’t for another two days, she said.

For the 34-year-old Philadelphia mother, who works full time and is working on a degree in social work at the Community College of Philadelphia, the help can’t come soon enough.

Normally, when in a pinch, Walker would be able to grab some fresh veggies or a prepared meal from a community fridge or pantry. But with approximately 30% of the city on SNAP, these lifelines are being stretched in real time, despite an influx of donations. There’s simply too much need.

“When you go to the pantries or the refrigerators, it’s a hit or miss,” said Walker. “It’s not always going to be guaranteed that there’s going to be food in there.”

Fresh vegetables, fish, and poultry are becoming increasingly hard to come by. Walker has been making do with the canned versions.

Campbell’s “chunky” brand soups have been a lifeline because there’s a bit of meat and because they can be stretched by adding rice and beans.

But as the pasta meals become more frequent for her children, Walker worries they’re not getting the fiber and protein they need.

Even now, Walker can’t help but feel like a conversation over the $422 she should have received for November is happening without her say.

She’s gainfully employed by First United Methodist Church of Germantown, which also helps her with food. In fact, she’s been promoted and her future SNAP payments are expected to decrease, but by the time she pays her $1,500 rent and bills, she needs the extra help for food.

Philabundance, the region’s largest food bank, says it’s an increasingly common scenario amid rising grocery prices and job losses in the region — all before the federal shutdown even began. The nonprofit’s partner pantries reported a 30% increase in need this year, with a particular surge in dual-income households.

Walker finds the political fight over SNAP benefit payments “inhumane,” and she wonders if it’s because some politicians have a negative perception of recipients.

“They think people just want to be on welfare, getting food stamps, and we’re just being lazy,” said Walker. “That’s not the case. I work full-time, I’m in school, and it’s still hard for me. I’m still trying to manage to get by.”

Meanwhile, grocers and butchers who accept SNAP benefits as payment report steep declines in business and more families putting purchases on credit cards.

Beatriz Rojas, owner of El Pueblo Meat Market in the Italian Market, said most of the people coming in for groceries Friday were putting their essentials on credit cards. Her till held a fraction of the cash it typically would ahead of the weekend.

“We’re worried too,” she said. “If this keeps going, I’ll have to dig into my savings.”

New Jersey similarly announced Friday that it was pushing SNAP benefits to the roughly 800,000 people who rely on them.

In a statement, Human Services Commissioner Sarah Adelman also described acting in immediate fashion after Thursday’s ruling to get funds into EBT cards.

“But make no mistake — there will be a lasting impact for many families, as well as our food banks and pantries,” wrote Adelman in a statement.

Just how many states were able to secure payments remains unclear.

Other states such as Wisconsin and California, reported seeing funds flowing into SNAP accounts overnight.

©2025 The Philadelphia Inquirer. Visit inquirer.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.