DENVER — Colorado was partway into sending full payments to SNAP recipients on Friday when the U.S. Supreme Court granted the Trump administration's emergency appeal to temporarily pause the payments, bringing the process to a standstill.
According to a statement issued by the state late Friday evening, about 32,000 SNAP beneficiaries received full benefits before the SCOTUS ruling. More than 600,000 Coloradans rely on SNAP and about half of those are children, 10% are seniors and 15% live with disabilities.
Those 32,000 individuals make up about 5% of total SNAP beneficiaries in Colorado.
"Since the Supreme Court’s order, Colorado has not received any new guidance from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)," the state said. "Colorado is committed to providing SNAP payments as rapidly as possible, while adhering to the latest legal decisions and USDA guidance. The State is evaluating how best to proceed based on the status of current litigation and will have a further update as soon as possible."
Friday was a whirlwind of back-and-forth action on this front with uncertainty abound for impacted families.
Earlier in the day, the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island ordered that the Food and Nutrition Service must make full SNAP food assistance funding available.
Around 4 p.m., the State of Colorado issued a press release saying it had submitted a request to its SNAP payment vendor for all participants in Colorado to receive full payments for November. This request went through at some point, as the Colorado Department of Human Services' (CDHS) website read shortly afterward that those who rely on SNAP "will begin receiving full payments for the month of November 2025" as early as Saturday.
Just minutes later, the Trump administration sought the opinion of the nation's highest court to block the federal judge's ruling to fully fund SNAP payments for November.
About an hour later, SCOTUS granted the administration's emergency appeal to temporarily block the court order.
As soon as SCOTUS made this ruling, Denver7 began reaching out to numerous sources to learn what this means for Coloradans.
At 10:20 p.m. Friday, we received more details from the state. Denver7 learned that 32,000 SNAP beneficiaries had indeed received their full payments before the SCOTUS ruling, leaving about 568,000 others in limbo and confusion.
“I am baffled to see the Trump administration continue to block SNAP food access for millions of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Coloradans, including children and seniors," Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement late Friday. "Costs keep going up for everyone, and we hope either the American justice system works quickly to allow us to get funds out to hungry Coloradans as soon as possible, or the Trump administration drops its appeal. This episode of 'The Twilight Zone' needs to end, and Americans deserve access to food. The administration should drop its appeal, which is creating chaos among states."
The Associated Press reports that the food program serves about one in eight Americans across the country.
Denver7 has been covering the challenges in the community during the shutdown and is sharing resources throughout our reporting:
- Denver pasta chef sparks community push to make more meals as SNAP benefits lapse (Oct. 30)
- Coloradans using Facebook groups to help neighbors ahead of SNAP benefit freeze (Oct. 31)
- Denver mom turns backyard into emergency food pantry on Halloween amid SNAP benefit uncertainty (Oct. 31)
- Finding solutions together: How Denver’s food halls are filling the gap during the shutdown (Nov. 1)
- Denver7 Gives donations help families impacted by government shutdown (Nov. 3)
- While SNAP benefits are on hold, help is not: Denver7 Gives steps up for Colorado families (Nov. 3)
- Northern Colorado butcher, baker give food to neighbors struggling amid SNAP freeze (Nov. 3)
- Worried about your finances during the federal government shutdown? Denver7 shares advice from experts (Nov. 3)
- Demand surges at diaper distributions as SNAP recipients face benefit reductions (Nov. 4)
- 'Really ironic': Nonprofit that trains people for food service careers feeds its students amid SNAP freeze (Nov. 4)
- 'We had to act': Arvada launches campaign to help meet increased need during federal government shutdown (Nov. 6)
- Coloradans react to federal judge's ruling to fully fund SNAP benefits by Friday (Nov. 6)
Colorado is not alone in trying to get full payments for SNAP participants. Officials in California, Kansas, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin confirmed Friday evening that some SNAP recipients already have been issued their full November payments, the AP reported.
"This remains an evolving situation, and new court opinions or guidance from the federal government could still impact access to benefits for the month of November," an official with the CDHS said ahead of the SCOTUS ruling.
The department is also warning about potential fraud, and is encouraging SNAP participants to take simple steps to avoid falling victim to scams: Change their PIN often to prevent fraudulent charges, avoid simple PINs, don't share PINs, and, if you're not using the card, freeze your EBT card to stop new purchases.
CDHS Executive Director Michelle Barnes explained that SNAP is essential to ensure everybody has access to healthy food, adding that no family or child should go hungry due to a government shutdown.
Coloradans react to numerous SNAP updates Friday
Henrietta Quintana, who typically receives roughly $400 a month in SNAP benefits, has been forced to dip into her savings to keep food on the table during the federal shutdown.
"We've been afraid," she said. "It's scary, you know, facing uncertainty.... I don't speak just for myself, you know, I'm speaking for the community, the people. And it's not just here in Colorado — it's all across the U.S."
After experiencing weeks of uncertainty, the Denver woman remains cautiously optimistic about receiving a full payment as soon as Saturday after the state's announcement.
"I'm sure a lot of people are going to be celebrating,” Quintana said. "The celebration is not going to happen until we actually see it on that card, but when we see it on that card, that uncertainty is going to go away.”
For Quintana, the restoration of benefits would provide much-needed relief.
"It'll be a weight lifted off my shoulders," she said. "A resolution for me, and it would be a resolution for a lot of people."
The following resources are currently available for those in need:
To find resources in your area, call 211 or 866-760-5489 or visit the 211 Colorado website. You can also find a list of resources through the Feeding Colorado website or by emailing info@feedingcolorado.org.
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