Niki Kelly/Indiana Capital Chronicle Gov. Mike Braun addresses reporters on Monday, Aug. 18, 2025, at the Indiana Statehouse.
Low-income Bartholomew County residents are expected to receive partial Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits on Tuesday as a legal dispute over the amount of payments continues amid the government shutdown.
Gov. Mike Braun said state officials will start processing the payments on Monday, with the partial payments expected to be available on EBT cards starting on Tuesday. The USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service has directed states to reduce maximum SNAP payments the month by 50%, according to the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration.
A total of 5,382 Bartholomew County residents — 2,735 households — received a collective $1.01 million in SNAP benefits in September, according to the latest data from FSSA.
SNAP payments lapsed on Nov. 1 after President Donald Trump’s administration initially refused to tap billions in reserve funds Congress had designated for the program in the event of funding emergencies, The Associated Press reported.
On Monday, the Trump administration returned to the Supreme Court in a push to keep full payments in the SNAP federal food aid program frozen while the government is shut down, even as some families struggled to put food on the table.
The request is the latest in a flurry of legal activity over how the program that helps 42 million Americans buy groceries should proceed during the historic U.S. government shutdown, according to wire reports. Lower courts have ruled that the government must keep full payments flowing, and the Supreme Court asked the administration to respond after an appeals court ruled against it again late Sunday.
The high court is expected to rule Tuesday.
Indiana is prepared to issue partial benefits due to federal funding restrictions and a U.S. Supreme Court stay, according to Braun’s office. With the shutdown expected to wind down and funding is restored, Braun said the state is positioned to move quickly to deliver full benefits to qualifying households “as soon as possible.”
Since the SNAP payments have lapsed, Love Chapel in Columbus has seen unprecedented demand for food so far this month and was on pace last week to to soar past its all-time monthly record for families served in a month.
A total of 545 families sought food assistance from Love Chapel during the first five days the pantry was open this month, according to executive director Kelly Daugherty.
If that pace continues, Love Chapel could serve roughly 2,725 families this month — 1.6 times the previous record of 1,698 families served in a single month.
“I have no doubts we’re going to set a record,” Daugherty said. “It’s a question of how high that record is going to be.”
