The Supreme Court on Tuesday extended an order blocking full payments for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, keeping in place a patchwork of food aid for millions of Americans as lawmakers work to end the government shutdown.

The order prolongs a chaotic situation in which SNAP recipients in some states have received their full monthly benefits, while others have received nothing, and some states have issued only partial payments. The extension is set to expire just before midnight Thursday.

The Senate has approved a bill to reopen the government, and the House of Representatives could vote on it as early as Wednesday. If enacted, the legislation would restart the program that helps 42 million Americans purchase groceries, though it remains unclear how quickly full benefits would be restored.

The justices’ decision avoids a substantive legal ruling on lower court orders requiring full SNAP payments, instead choosing what experts describe as the path of least resistance, given the likelihood that the shutdown will soon end.

Carolyn Vega, a policy analyst at the advocacy group Share Our Strength, said technical challenges could arise in states that issued partial benefits when attempting to send out the remaining amounts.

In Pennsylvania, full November benefits went out to some recipients last Friday. But Jim Malliard, 41, a caretaker for his blind wife and medically fragile teenage daughter, said he had not received anything by Monday. “It’s kind of been a lot of late nights, making sure I had everything down to the penny to make sure I was right,” Malliard said. “To say anxiety has been my issue for the past two weeks is putting it mildly.”

Amid the uncertainty, some Americans have taken matters into their own hands. Teacher Ashley Oxenford in Carthage, New York, set up a “little food pantry” in her front yard to support neighbors affected by the SNAP pause. “I figure that I’ve spent money on dumber stuff than trying to feed other people during a manufactured famine,” she said.

The Trump administration initially cut SNAP funding in October due to the shutdown, prompting lawsuits and a series of contradictory judicial rulings. The administration offered partial benefits of up to 65% after judges ordered minimal funding, but resisted a directive to provide full November payments, citing the need to maintain emergency funds.

In filings with the Supreme Court, the administration argued that courts should not reallocate resources without lawful authority. “The only way to end this crisis — which the Executive is adamant to end — is for Congress to reopen the government,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote.

A coalition of cities and nonprofit groups challenging the SNAP pause blamed the Department of Agriculture for the disruption. “The chaos was sown by USDA’s delays and intransigence, not by the district court’s efforts to mitigate that chaos and the harm it has inflicted on families who need food,” the coalition said.