BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) -- The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) said federal SNAP benefits will go to all eligible Louisiana recipients starting Thursday, Nov. 7. This will happen even with the ongoing federal government shutdown.

LDH has also ended staff furloughs and reopened all SNAP offices, effective immediately.

LDH said recipients will get about 50% of their usual monthly benefits. This depends on household size and occurs on their regular distribution day. People who received state-funded emergency help from Nov. 1–4, like seniors and those with disabilities, will get their federal benefits on Nov. 7.

Any unused benefits from previous months will remain on recipients’ EBT cards and can still be used. SNAP recipients don’t need to do anything to get their benefits, but they must keep meeting program requirements. They also need to report household changes and submit required documents on time, LDH said.

LDH said verification paperwork can be mailed to the LDH ES Document Processing Center (P.O. Box 260031, Baton Rouge, LA 70826), faxed to 225-663-3164, or dropped off at a local parish office.

The department confirmed that the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program is fully operational.

LDH said thanks to USDA's contingency funds, WIC food packages, nutrition education, and breastfeeding support are running smoothly. Families are encouraged to keep their appointments and use their WIC benefits as usual.

LDH said it will continue to monitor the situation and tell participants if any changes happen.

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