WASHINGTON —

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in some states may not arrive for “a few weeks to up to several months,” and the payments will be reduced, the United States Department of Agriculture told a federal judge Monday, citing major system changes states must make to issue the lower amounts.

“There are procedural difficulties that States will likely experience which would affect November SNAP benefits reaching households in a timely manner and in the correctly reduced amounts,” the USDA said.

The delays and reduced payments mean millions of Americans don’t know how much food assistance they’ll receive or when it will show up. Two federal judges ruled the Trump administration must keep the program running during the government shutdown, after the USDA said it ran

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