Jennifer Ludden

Providence, Rhode Island Mayor Brett Smiley says it never should have taken a lawsuit for that.

To threaten the stability of families who are already struggling is wrong.

States must now recalculate to distribute the partial payments, which the administration says could take weeks or even months in some places.

Jennifer Ludden, NPR News, Washington.

They said Congress has provided more than $5 billion in emergency funds, and it's for exactly this kind of situation.

They rejected the administration's argument that it cannot legally use that.

They said it not only can, but must.

In Rhode Island, Judge John McConnell Jr.

called for this to happen as soon as possible.

The other judge, Indira Talwani in Boston, said officials could also tap more money from customs revenue.

But she left that decision up to them.

The federal government usually sends SNAP funding to states well before the first of the month because it takes days to distribute it onto people's debit-like cards.

Now, there's an added complication.

The Agriculture Department's contingency money falls short of full SNAP funding for November.

The administration has said calculating partial payments would be a logistical nightmare that could take weeks.

States and cities across the country have been preparing for a lapse.

They're ramping up donations to food banks, offering protections if people fall behind on their bills, even shifting their own budgets to pay some amount of food aid to snap recipients temporarily.

Jennifer Lutton, NPR News, Washington.

A federal judge in Boston said the administration not only can but must use contingency funds to keep SNAP going.

She said it could also shift other money, but left it up to the administration to decide whether to do so.