Food Bank of the Rockies in Denver is seeing a rising demand as SNAP recipients seek help amid food assistance benefit lapse.
Volunteers at Food Bank of the Rockies distribution site in Aurora, Colorado, pause for prayer before loading food into waiting cars on Nov. 1, 2025, following the halt of SNAP benefits for 42 million Americans.

About 12% of Americans began the week waiting to find out if they would receive federal food assistance in November, the first time it was in question since the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) began more than 60 years ago.

The Trump administration has been ordered by two courts to provide the funding, but it was unclear how soon people would begin receiving their food stamps and how much they would or wouldn't get.

In the last week of October, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it did not believe it had the authority to provide SNAP benefits in November because of the ongoing government shutdown.

The Trump administration said on Nov. 3 that it planned to partially fund food aid for millions of Americans after two judges ruled it must use contingency funds to pay for the benefits in November.

It could take days, if not a week or more, for the money to arrive.

What did the courts order?

Two federal judges ordered the USDA on Oct. 31 to pay SNAP benefits in November, but provided conflicting routes to do so.

Massachusetts federal Judge Indira Talwani said in a written decision that the government is required to use its nearly $6 billion in contingency funds to keep the SNAP program funded. She also said the administration is allowed to transfer other funds that come from charges on imports to supplement the contingency funds. The SNAP program costs about $9 billion a month.

Talwani gave the Trump administration until Nov. 3 to tell her whether it would authorize at least reduced benefits for November and its timeline for determining whether it will also authorize full benefits.

In a separate case, Rhode Island federal Judge John McConnell also ordered the administration to distribute the contingency funds and update him by noon on Nov. 3 on the status of that distribution.

The administration responded to McConnell that it would provide half the usual benefits to SNAP recipients this month and was electing not to transfer funds from other accounts, such as the Child Nutrition Fund, to make up the rest because Congress has not promised to replenish it.

Does that mean people got their SNAP benefits?

Not necessarily immediately or completely.

First, not everyone receives SNAP on the first of the month. When the benefits are deposited differs by state.

Second, it will take several days, if not weeks or months, for states to reprogram their systems and work with contractors to release money to recipients, Patrick Penn, a USDA official, told the court.

There are a lot of unanswered questions on what this will look like, said Colleen Heflin, co-author of the book "Food for Thought: Understanding Older Adult Food Insecurity."

Will families with children and elderly people be prioritized for benefits? she asked. Will people who normally receive their benefit at the beginning of the month receive more than people whose state provides it toward the end of the month? Will recipients receive their full monthly amount if the government opens later this month?

"We really don't know how this is going to work," Heflin said.

Did the Senate vote on reopening the government today?

No. The Senate did not vote on Nov. 3 on reopening the government.

Democrats have refused to vote for an end to the shutdown until Republicans repeal cutbacks made this summer that would kick millions off Medicaid and end insurance subsidies set to expire at the end of the calendar year. These subsidies make it less expensive for low and middle-class Americans to purchase health insurance on the exchange.

Without them, people can expect substantial rate increases, up to 300%.

Will half the benefits be enough?

Heflin, the expert in older adult poverty, said low-income families are already budgeted to the limit and losing a portion of their benefits means they were already making hard choices.

People qualify for SNAP by having a net monthly income at or below the federal poverty level. For a family of four, that is $32,150. For a single person, it is $15,650.

"People are going to start making trade-offs. Right? So some households, they will immediately start paying not all of their rent or mortgage this month. They're not going to pay the utility bill in full or maybe not at all. They're going to think about whether they can afford to refill their medication," she said.

She expects a surge in visits to food banks, as well as reliance on family and friends and soup kitchens.

Will there be contingency funds left if the government doesn’t reopen soon?

The current plan appears to use nearly all of the about $6 billion in the contingency fund, which is typically set aside for disasters or other unexpected needs.

For this month, that will provide about half of what recipients would normally receive. No money will be left if the shutdown stretches into December.

How did SNAP find its way into the center of the current government shutdown?

SNAP has never been a partisan football like this before.

Yes, both parties have made changes, but presidents and Congress have always kept funding flowing to those who need it, including Trump in his first term, said David Super, a Georgetown University law professor and expert on public welfare law.

"They all felt an obligation to keep the program running, and they all almost literally stood on their head to make sure that benefits would get out to people," he said. "This has been something that has not been political or ideological up to this point, and it would be tragic if we crossed that line and this does become something that's just part of partisan warfare."

Sarah D. Wire is a senior national political correspondent for USA TODAY and can be reached at swire@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump says SNAP will be half funded in November. What does that mean?

Reporting by Sarah D. Wire, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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