The U.S. Department of Agriculture will reduce the largest monthly food assistance payments by about 35% in November, a smaller decrease than the department initially estimated, according to a court filing late Wednesday.

That means the maximum monthly benefit likely would be roughly two-thirds of the usual benefit flowing to recipients, rather than the half initially projected.

USDA miscalculated how to adjust benefit payments for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to account for a lack of full funding during the government shutdown, a department official said in a filing to the U.S. District Court for Rhode Island.

The formula the government initially used and sent to states Tuesday would have resulted in about a 50% cut to the maximum monthly benefits, and lef

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