Governor Maura Healey said the Commonwealth successfully restored Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to recipients’ EBT cards after winning a court ruling and completing a federal funding application.

"We took the Trump administration to court, and we won," Healey said, crediting Attorney General Andrea Campbell and her team for the legal work and saying state staff moved quickly to apply for federal SNAP funds so payments could be issued. "As of this morning, I'm happy to report that those SNAP benefits have been fully funded. … Go out and buy the food that you need to feed your family," Healey told reporters.

Why it matters: State officials said the benefits lapse occurred during a 40-day federal shutdown when the administration did not obligate USDA funds for SNAP, putting “over 1,100,000” people in Massachusetts at risk, according to Healey. The governor said the Commonwealth acted to make sure eligible recipients received benefits as soon as federal funding became available.

What the state did: Healey said the Department of Transitional Assistance and the state vendor were positioned to process payments as soon as federal funds were released and that cards were loaded over the weekend. "My job is to protect the people of Massachusetts. My job is to work with my team as we did, to go to court, to fight for them and to make sure that we were ready to go and cards were loaded," she said.

Local relief and resources: Healey said the Commonwealth helped establish a United Way response fund that had raised more than $5 million in under two weeks; those donations are being distributed to food pantries and community organizations. She also noted other federal programs — including Head Start and WIC — remained affected by the shutdown and urged people in need to contact local food pantries or visit mass.gov/snapfreeze for information and assistance.

Attorney General Andrea Campbell was named by Healey for the legal work that preceded the funding restoration. Healey said multiple courts have ruled on the matter and that the state will continue to process SNAP benefits for people who become eligible in the normal course.

Clarifying details: In the briefing Healey cited a figure described as "over 1,000,000 1,100,000 people" at risk; the transcript contained both numbers. The article records Healey’s statement and flags the inconsistency rather than substituting a different figure. The state’s statement that benefits are "fully funded" reflects the governor’s announcement that cards were loaded and payments processed after the court ruling and application for federal funds.

Bottom line: State officials say SNAP payments interrupted during the federal shutdown have been restored for people who were eligible, and they urged donors to continue supporting food banks as some other federal programs remained shut down.