Wyoming SNAP Benefits Finally Hit Cards After Shutdown Snag

With input from Oil City News and the New York Times.

Wyoming families who rely on food stamps are finally getting some good news. The Wyoming Department of Family Services (DFS) announced Thursday that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients will receive their full November benefits starting Friday.

Those benefits normally would have shown up earlier in the month, but the record-long federal government shutdown froze payments nationwide. With the government now reopened, the US Department of Agriculture — which oversees SNAP — has confirmed that Wyoming households will still get the full amounts they’re eligible for in November, just later than expected.

DFS says it has already processed everything on its end so the money can be loaded onto electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards as early as Friday, Nov. 14. Before heading to the grocery store, recipients are being urged to check their balance either by calling the customer service line at 1-877-290-9401 or by logging into the ebtEdge website to make sure the funds have actually landed.

DFS Director Korin Schmidt said the delay hit at a time when need was already rising — and that things could have been much worse without the people and organizations who stepped in. She thanked community partners, volunteers, food banks and Gov. Mark Gordon for helping to bridge the gap while federal dollars were on hold, calling their efforts the reason Wyoming didn’t see “so much suffering” during the pause in benefits.

SNAP is a quiet but critical lifeline in Wyoming. In September 2025, the program helped feed 26,393 people in 12,726 households across the state. That single month brought just over $4.85 million in federal food benefits into Wyoming grocery stores. Many of those families suddenly had to stretch whatever was in their pantries when November’s funds didn’t arrive on time.

With benefits now resuming, DFS is trying to reassure residents that November’s money is safe to use and that the program is operating normally again. For anyone who has been rationing meals, leaning on food pantries or borrowing to cover groceries during the shutdown, Friday’s deposits could mean the difference between one more week of scraping by and finally being able to fill a cart.

“Anyone in need of a hot nutritious meal is welcome,” Schmidt noted in an earlier statement about rising food insecurity, emphasizing that the state’s safety net only works when government programs and community support move in tandem.

For SNAP households, the next step is simple but important: double-check that the benefits have posted, then shop as usual. After weeks of uncertainty, Wyoming’s food stamp system is finally catching up.