Government Shutdown 2025: Benefits Updates

Federal Government Shutdown: Update to SNAP Benefits

November 6: Update on partial SNAP Benefits for November 2025

On Friday, Oct. 31, the US District Court in Massachusetts found that Colorado and 22 other states were likely to win their claim against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for unlawfully suspending the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food assistance. The USDA responded to the Court’s order by indicating it would authorize the use of contingency funds that would partially fund SNAP food assistance.  

The Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) received guidance from USDA on Nov. 4 about the issuance of partial SNAP food assistance for the month of November. At this time, CDHS is operating under the formal federal guidance from USDA to issue partial benefits.

As part of this guidance, CDHS requires technical changes to our system to be able to issue partial benefits for the month of November. We are working with our technology vendor and our Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) processor to implement these changes to be able to issue food assistance as rapidly as possible.

This past weekend, the Polis Administration also worked with the Joint Budget Committee to approve $10 million in funding for food banks and food pantries in order to help partially mitigate the impact of a lapse in federal food assistance funding. The first $5 million disbursement went to food banks and food pantries this past weekend, with the second scheduled to go out on November 15th if the federal shutdown continues.

How much funding will be available as a result of the judge’s ruling?

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has not designated specific dollars per state. The compliance ruling cites that the contingency fund will be obligated to “cover 50% of eligible households’ current allotments.” USDA on Tuesday provided the new maximum allotment amounts for households based on size and states will need to recalculate eligibility for each household based on those maximum allotment amounts. This does not mean that households will receive 50% of their full allotment for November.

What you should do: 

  • Continue to apply and recertify - counties are continuing to process paperwork so you will be ready to receive benefits as soon as funding is available.
  • Check back here for updates. We will update this banner with new information as soon as we receive it.

In addition to working with partners to identify stopgap support where possible, we will continue to monitor this situation and will keep participants and stakeholders updated through the Colorado PEAK portal, the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) website, and this website. Existing SNAP benefits remain on Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards. Larimer County Department of Human Services will continue to process applications and renewals to avoid possible delays when the shutdown ends and funds are available again. CDHS will issue an immediate public statement once the hold is lifted.

If you need more food resources during the government shutdown, we encourage you to reach out to your local food banks or community agencies in your area.

To find these resources in your area, please contact:

More up-to-date information can be found on the Colorado PEAK website: https://co.gov/peak