Administration gets leeway on whether to fund the program partially or in full for November<\/p>\n
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A volunteer prepares meals at the Philabundance Community Kitchen in Philadelphia, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo\/Matt Rourke)<\/p>\n
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Editor\u2019s note: This article is free to all readers.<\/p>\n
BOSTON \u2013 Two federal judges ruled nearly simultaneously on Friday that President Donald Trump\u2019s administration must continue to pay for SNAP, the nation\u2019s biggest food aid<\/a> program, using emergency reserve funds during the government shutdown.<\/p>\n The judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island gave the administration leeway on whether to fund the program partially or in full for November. That also brings uncertainty about how things will unfold and will delay payments for many beneficiaries whose cards would normally be recharged early in the month.<\/p>\n The U.S. Department of Agriculture planned to freeze payments to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program starting Nov. 1 because it said it could no longer keep funding it due to the shutdown. The program serves about 1 in 8 Americans and is a major piece of the nation\u2019s social safety net. It costs about $8 billion per month nationally.<\/p>\n U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat and the ranking member of the Senate Agriculture committee that oversees the food aid program, said Friday’s rulings from judges nominated to the bench by former President Barack Obama confirm what Democrats have been saying: \u201cThe administration is choosing not to feed Americans in need, despite knowing that it is legally required to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump posted on social media Friday blasting congressional Democrats for the shutdown and suggesting the government would comply with the rulings but also that it needed more clarity first: \u201cIf we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court, it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding.\u201d<\/p>\n Judges agree at least one fund must go toward SNAP<\/p>\n Democratic state attorneys general or governors from 25 states and the District of Columbia challenged the plan to pause the program, contending that the administration has a legal obligation to keep it running in their jurisdictions.<\/p>\n The administration said it wasn\u2019t allowed to use a contingency fund of about $5 billion for the program, which reversed a USDA plan from before the shutdown that said money would be tapped to keep SNAP running. The Democratic officials said not only could that money be used, but that it must be. They also said a separate fund with around $23 billion is available for the cause.<\/p>\n Good Sam\u2019s Food Pantry<\/p>\n Address: 30 N. Beech St., Cortez<\/p>\n Phone: (970) 565-6424<\/p>\n Hours:<\/p>\n Tuesdays and Fridays: 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.<\/p>\n Wednesdays and Thursdays: 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.goodsamscortez.org<\/a>\/<\/p>\n …………………………………………….<\/p>\n Evangel Assembly of God<\/p>\n Address: 209 W. Fifth St., Cortez<\/p>\n Phone: (970) 565-4198<\/p>\n Hours: Monday and Tuesday: 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.<\/p>\n Please call ahead. All calls will be returned.<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cortezevangelassemblyofgod\/<\/a><\/p>\n …………………………………………….<\/p>\n Family Worship Center<\/p>\n Address: 500 N. Washington St., Cortez<\/p>\n Phone: (970) 565-4198<\/p>\n Hours: Thursday: 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.<\/p>\n …………………………………………….<\/p>\n Commodities (TEFAP) Distribution<\/p>\n Phone: (970) 565-6424<\/p>\n Cortez: Available at Good Sam\u2019s Food Pantry during regular hours, starting November 2025<\/p>\n Mancos: Mancos FoodShare, fourth Monday of each month, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.<\/p>\n …………………………………………….<\/p>\n Mancos FoodShare<\/p>\n Location: Mount Lookout Grange, 680 Grand Ave., Mancos<\/p>\n Hours: First and third Mondays: 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.<\/p>\n https:\/\/mancosvalleyresources.com\/2019\/07\/mancos-food-share\/<\/a><\/p>\n …………………………………………….<\/p>\n ROCK Food Distribution<\/p>\n Address: 128 E. U.S. Highway 491, Dove Creek<\/p>\n Phone: (970) 564-5363<\/p>\n Hours: Second Friday of each month: 3 p.m.<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.rockchurch.com\/ministries\/food-distribution<\/a><\/p>\n …………………………………………….<\/p>\n Dove Creek Care and Share Food Pantry<\/p>\n Address: 214 U.S. Highway 491, Dove Creek<\/p>\n Phone: (970) 769-0006<\/p>\n Hours: Wednesday through Friday: 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DCCares\/<\/a><\/p>\n …………………………………………….<\/p>\n Rico Pantry<\/p>\n Address: 1 N. Commercial St., Rico<\/p>\n Phone: (970) 967-2861<\/p>\n Hours: Tuesday and Wednesday: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.<\/p>\n …………………………………………….<\/p>\n Care and Share Mobile Market<\/p>\n Location: Rec Center, Towaoc<\/p>\n Phone: (970) 739-3562<\/p>\n Distribution Day: Third Wednesday of each month<\/p>\n …………………………………………….<\/p>\n Montezuma County Senior Center<\/p>\n Address: 107 N. Chestnut St., Cortez<\/p>\n Phone: (970) 565-4166<\/p>\n Distribution: Last Tuesday of each month. Please contact the center to sign up for a food box.<\/p>\n …………………………………………….<\/p>\n Senior Lunches \/ Meals on Wheels<\/p>\n Cortez: (970) 565-4166<\/p>\n Dolores: (970) 882-7337<\/p>\n Mancos: (970) 533-7721<\/p>\n …………………………………………….<\/p>\n Four Corners Food Not Bombs<\/p>\n Location: The Warehouse, 30 N. Beech St., Cortez<\/p>\n Schedule: Sundays: 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.<\/p>\n Vegan\/vegetarian potluck, supplies and hot meal available.<\/p>\n instagram.com\/fourcornersfoodcoalition<\/a><\/p>\n …………………………………………….<\/p>\n Hope\u2019s Kitchen \u2013 First United Methodist<\/p>\n Address: 515 Park St., Cortez<\/p>\n Meal Service: Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays: 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.firstumccortez.com\/hopes-kitchen<\/a><\/p>\n …………………………………………….<\/p>\n Grace\u2019s Kitchen \u2013 St. Barnabas<\/p>\n Address: 110 W. North St., Cortez<\/p>\n Meal Service: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays: 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.stbarnabascortez.org\/graces<\/a><\/p>\n …………………………………………….<\/p>\n Disabled American Veterans (DAV)<\/p>\n Address: 432 N. Broadway, Cortez<\/p>\n Phone: (970) 565-4310<\/p>\n Hours: Monday through Friday: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/371710104018474\/<\/a><\/p>\n …………………………………………….<\/p>\n Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP\/EBT)<\/p>\n Agency: Montezuma County Department of Social Services<\/p>\n Address: 109 W. Main St., Suite 170, Cortez<\/p>\n Phone: (970) 565-3769<\/p>\n Office Hours: Monday through Friday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.<\/p>\n https:\/\/montezumacounty.org\/social-services\/<\/p>\n …………………………………………….<\/p>\n Dolores County DSS<\/p>\n Address: 8560 Road 7.2, Dove Creek<\/p>\n Phone: (970) 677-2250<\/p>\n Hours: Monday through Thursday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.<\/p>\n https:\/\/dolocnty.colorado.gov\/social-services<\/a><\/p>\n Source: Montezuma County<\/a><\/p>\n In Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell ruled from the bench in a case filed by cities and nonprofits that the program must be funded using at least the contingency funds. He asked for an update on progress by Monday.<\/p>\n Along with ordering the federal government to use emergency reserves to backfill SNAP benefits, McConnell ruled that all previous work requirement waivers must continue to be honored. The USDA during the shutdown has terminated existing waivers that exempted work requirements for older adults, veterans and others.<\/p>\n There were similar elements in the Boston case, where U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ruled in a written opinion that the USDA has to pay for SNAP, calling the suspension \u201cunlawful.\u201d She ordered the federal government to advise the court by Monday as to whether they will use the emergency reserve funds to provide reduced SNAP benefits for November or fully fund the program \u201cusing both contingency funds and additional available funds.<\/p>\n \u201cDefendants\u2019 suspension of SNAP payments was based on the erroneous conclusion that the Contingency Funds could not be used to ensure continuation of SNAP payments,\u201d she wrote. \u201cThis court has now clarified that Defendants are required to use those Contingency Funds as necessary for the SNAP program.\u201d<\/p>\n Brock Brooks, a disable Marine Corps veteran, cries while describing the impending SNAP shutdowns while waiting in line to enter the food pantry service at Calvary Episcopal Church on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo\/Jon Cherry)<\/p>\n For many, benefits will still be delayed after the ruling<\/p>\n No matter how the rulings came down, the benefits for millions of people will be delayed in November because the process of loading cards can take a week or more in many states.<\/p>\n The administration did not immediately say whether it would appeal the rulings.<\/p>\n States, food banks and SNAP recipients<\/a> have been bracing for an abrupt shift in how low-income people can get groceries. Advocates and beneficiaries say halting the food aid would force people to choose between buying groceries and paying other bills.<\/p>\n Most states have announced more or expedited funding for food banks or novel ways to load at least some benefits onto the SNAP debit cards.<\/p>\n Across the U.S., advocates who had been sounding the alarm for weeks about the pending SNAP benefits cut off let out a small sigh of relief as the rulings came down Friday, while acknowledging the win is temporary and possibly not complete.<\/p>\n \u201cThousands of nonprofit food banks, pantries and other organizations across the country can avoid the impossible burden that would have resulted if SNAP benefits had been halted,\u201d said Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits, one of the plaintiffs in the Rhode Island case.<\/p>\n The possibility of reduced benefits also means uncertainty<\/p>\n Cynthia Kirkhart, CEO of Facing Hunger Food Bank in Huntington, West Virginia, said her organization and the pantries it serves in Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia will keep their extra hours this weekend, knowing that the people whose benefits usually arrive at the start of the month won\u2019t see them.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we know, unless the administration is magical, is nothing is going to happen tomorrow,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Kristle Johnson, a full-time nursing student and mother of three in Florida, is concerned about the possibility of reduced benefits.<\/p>\n Despite buying meat in bulk, careful meal planning and not buying junk food, she said, her $994 a month benefit doesn\u2019t buy a full month\u2019s groceries.<\/p>\n \u201cNow I have to deal with someone who wants to get rid of everything I have to keep my family afloat until I can better myself,\u201d Johnson said of Trump.<\/p>\n The ruling doesn’t resolve partisan tussles<\/p>\n At a Washington news conference earlier Friday, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, whose department runs SNAP, said the contingency funds in question would not cover the cost of the program for long. Speaking at a news conference with House Speaker Mike Johnson at the Capitol, she blamed Democrats for conducting a \u201cdisgusting dereliction of duty\u201d by refusing to end their Senate filibuster as they hold out for an extension of health care funds.<\/p>\n A push this week to continue SNAP funding during the shutdown failed in Congress<\/a>.<\/p>\n To qualify for SNAP in 2025, a family of four\u2019s net income after certain expenses can\u2019t exceed the federal poverty line, which is about $31,000 per year. Last year, SNAP provided assistance to 41 million people, nearly two-thirds of whom were families with children.<\/p>\n \u201cThe court\u2019s ruling protects millions of families, seniors, and veterans from being used as leverage in a political fight and upholds the principle that no one in America should go hungry,\u201d Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, said of the Rhode Island decision.<\/p>\n Local food resources<\/p>\n Ballantine Communications Inc. has created resource guides specific to Montezuma County, Dolores County, San Juan County, N.M., and La Plata County with information about free food, grocery support and SNAP benefits. To view the resource guides, visit:<\/p>\n \u2022 Montezuma County Cares: https:\/\/www.the-journal.com\/montezuma-county-cares\/<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 Durango Cares: durangoherald.com\/durango-cares\/<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022 San Juan County: https:\/\/www.tricityrecordnm.com\/san-juan-county-cares\/<\/a><\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Copy article link\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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