PROVIDENCE — A federal judge on Wednesday declined to immediately issue a temporary order in a lawsuit brought by the Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Center for Law and Economic Justice that accuses the state of failing to promptly process food stamp applications.

But U.S. District Judge William E. Smith, during a nearly hour-long closed meeting in his chamber, said he would resume discussions with lawyers for the state and the two advocacy groups on July 30, according to Lynette Labinger, a volunteer lawyer for the ACLU.

The lawsuit filed on Monday accuses the state of an “ongoing and persistent failure to timely process applications for Rhode Island’s poorest families.” That delay, it alleges, “means that thousands of households are denied desperately needed assistance to help them feed their families, and suffer hunger as a result.”

Under federal law, states must process food stamp applications within 30 days, and in as little as one week for the poorest families.

The suit cites the case of Shalonda Spruill, of Warwick, who applied for food stamps for herself and her 8-year-old daughter in mid-May.

Because she had no money, she should have been eligible for the expedited, one-week processing. Instead, she has to wait for an interview until July 15.

Labinger and Marc Cohan, a lawyer for the National Center, sought a temporary order to force the state to immediately process food stamp applications for Spruill and others in similar circumstances and to issue food stamps within 48 hours, or 24 hours for those eligible for expedited processing.

Neither Labinger nor Cohan would comment on the discussions in the judge’s chamber. Lawyers representing the attorney general and the Department of Human Services were present as well.

rsalit@projo.com