BUTLER, Pa. — Brian Rayburn and his wife were just getting ready to make their grocery list on Friday morning and figure out what they could manage to buy when they found out their November SNAP benefits had been put into their account.
“So, it has been a big relief because we are running really low in our refrigerator trying to keep up with food,” he told Channel 11’s Andrew Havranek. “It was a full SNAP benefit. We got what we needed.”
They have six kids. Groceries for eight people in one house get expensive fast.
“If they had not come in, we were already struggling,” Rayburn said. “We were sitting there, dipping into some Christmas money, some bill money, trying to keep food in the house, trying to keep the kids fed because we are a big family.”
Several other shoppers said they also got their SNAP benefits on Friday that were originally supposed to be in their accounts last week. Jason Pedrick said it’s a relief.
“I mean, if we had to, we could have used the credit cards, but I mean, this is a relief because then we’re not having to pay additional credit card bills, so it really does help,” Pedrick said.
Governor Josh Shapiro announced Friday that anyone who was owed SNAP benefits between November 1 and Friday should receive their benefits by midnight.
A federal court ruled Thursday that SNAP benefits for November needed to be fully funded. The Trump administration was appealing that ruling Friday, but then reversed course, saying late Friday afternoon it would fully fund SNAP this month.
Shoppers who spoke with Channel 11 said they hope there aren’t further gaps in coverage as we approach the holidays.
“Food banks are already strained as it is and unless something’s done, I can only see it getting worse,” Pedrick said.
“We’re hoping it will continue and we won’t have any more problems, because I’ll tell you what. It’s a struggle,” Rayburn added.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOWon
©2025 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/XCUXZC2XYZHCRGNNGKFEX6U3LQ.png)
