Washington is moving ahead on distributing full food benefits for November, Gov. Bob Ferguson announced Monday night.

That means people in Washington who participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program can expect to get normal payments this month.

According to the governor, the state has delivered close to $115 million in benefits so far, with around $48.5 million left to send out through Nov. 20.

"The situation remains fluid, but our plan is to stay on schedule from here on out," he wrote in a statement on X. "People who receive SNAP benefits should check their cards. If there are funds available, they should use their cards as they normally would."

Confusion swirled over the weekend among SNAP recipients, who faced conflicting messages about the status of their benefits.

The rollout of SNAP benefits in November has been messy from the start. Initially, the Trump administration said no benefits would be distributed at all due to the government shutdown.

Then, last Thursday, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to dip into reserve funds to make full payments for November. A few states, including Washington, immediately began to send out benefits in response to the order. The Trump administration appealed the judge's order, and the Supreme Court on Friday paused it.

This series of events has left SNAP recipients worried — first that they wouldn't get food assistance, and now that it might get clawed back.

Amy Roark, a single mother with two children in her household, received her full SNAP payment on Sunday. However, she also got a seemingly ominous notice on her benefits app.

"The Supreme Court paused a ruling to restore full November SNAP benefits," the notice reads, according to a screenshot shared with The Seattle Times. "We're working to understand what this means for deposits already issued."

The ambiguity made Roark want to spend all of her SNAP payment immediately.

"What if they take it back?" she said Tuesday. "I'd rather have stuff in my freezer instead of not. She spent about $260 at Safeway on Monday night, stocking up for the week.

The ongoing litigation over SNAP benefits has resulted in a patchwork of policies across the U.S. Some states have issued partial benefits, while others have used local funds to pay full benefits, according to an analysis of state-by-state approaches by Food Fix, a food policy publication.

A few states that had already issued full benefits to some people before the Supreme Court pause subsequently stopped issuing benefits.

Many local governments have sent additional funds to food banks and pantries, in an effort to meet higher demand amid disruptions to SNAP.

It's unclear what consequences states might face for issuing full SNAP payments, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture claimed were unauthorized.

Meanwhile, Congress is moving forward to end the shutdown. Theoretically, SNAP payments would resume once the government reopens.

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