PIERRE – The South Dakota Department of Social Services (DSS) has now completed processing of partial benefits for all eligible SNAP recipients.  Benefits will be loaded onto EBT cards overnight. 

The partial benefit amounts are based on guidance from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) received on November 8. This does not change how each of the 37,000 eligible household’s benefits are calculated under federal rules. Therefore, amounts received by beneficiaries will vary.

When the federal shutdown ends and all benefits are restored, DSS plans to issue the equivalent of remaining payments through a second installment of SNAP benefits.  The first and second issuances will comprise the full November benefit. 

DSS’s implementation of FNS’s partial benefit plan involved processing all cases before benefits could be loaded onto Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards.  Processing continued through the Veteran’s Day holiday.

SNAP recipients are encouraged to check their balances through the EBT app or portal.