BATON ROUGE, La. — Gov. Jeff Landry announced Wednesday that Louisiana will fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits through November after federal funding lapsed because of the government shutdown.

Benefits will be distributed in stages, with elderly and disabled residents receiving assistance during the first four days of November. Families with children will receive benefits throughout the rest of the month.

The state will use Louisiana Department of Health funds totaling between $140 million and $150 million to cover the program. The federal government is expected to reimburse the funds once operations resume.

However, about 53,000 Louisiana residents classified as able-bodied adults will not receive SNAP benefits in November, Landry said.

State Sen. Cameron Henry said lawmakers passed emergency legislation during a special session allowing the health department to fund SNAP recipients temporarily.

“You have to make sure that your disabled, your elderly, and about a thousand families and individuals on this program are taken care of,” Henry said.

More than 800,000 Louisiana residents participate in SNAP, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The USDA announced it does not have funding to pay SNAP benefits for November if the shutdown continues. Several states have adopted similar emergency measures using state funds.