The Massachusetts judge said the administration must access the contingency funding to pay the benefits and had until Monday to report back to the court on whether they will authorise at least partial benefits for November.

Massachusetts US District Judge Indira Talwani wrote in her decision that the states who sued are likely to win in court on their claim that "Congress intended the funding of SNAP benefits, at a reduced rate if necessary, when appropriated funds prove insufficient".

Judge Talwani also wrote that the Trump administration "erred in concluding" that the USDA is blocked by law from tapping the emergency reserves in the contingency fund when there is a lapse in federal funding.

The USDA had said those reserves were insufficient to pay full benefits, which cost $8.5bn to $9bn each month. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins had said she would only use the fund for an emergency such as a natural disaster.

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Separately in Rhode Island, a lawsuit was brought by a number of US cities and NGOs who sued over what they called the "unlawful suspension" of the programme.

"There is no doubt and it is beyond argument that irreparable harm will begin to occur if it hasn't already occurred in the terror it has caused some people about the availability of funding for food, for their family," US District Judge John McConnell said.

But the practical implications seem unclear:

Will SNAP benefits be paid in November? (CNN)

It’s now unclear whether the administration will appeal the rulings. However, the Justice Department signaled during a hearing on Thursday that it would do so if US District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston issued an adverse ruling.

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If only the contingency fund were tapped, the USDA would have to reduce benefits for all SNAP recipients, which it has never done, according to a declaration filed by the agency official who oversees the program. Also, state agencies would need to recode their systems to issue the smaller benefit amounts, which could result in payment errors.

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For at least some states, the process could take anywhere from a few weeks to several months, Penn said, drawing upon informal conversations with state agencies.

Before states could even act, the USDA would also have to determine how to calculate and authorize the reduced allotments. This effort could be hampered if its employees have been furloughed during the shutdown or laid off or departed amid the Trump administration’s efforts to downsize the federal government, Plata-Nino said.