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DES MOINES — Iowa households that rely on food assistance will begin receiving their long-delayed November SNAP benefits after Congress ended the 43-day federal government shutdown, the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday.

The resumption comes after weeks of uncertainty for the more than 260,000 Iowans who receive approximately $45 million in monthly SNAP benefits, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. More than 130,000 Iowa households typically rely on monthly SNAP assistance.

Iowans should have already begun seeing November balances appear as early as Thursday evening, with full distribution expected in the coming days, according to HHS.

The monthslon

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