CalFresh Benefits Will Be 'Delayed' in November by Shutdown. Here's What to Know

As the federal government shutdown enters its second month, with no sign of ending any time soon, around 42 million people in the United States have already gone without their food benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

On Nov. 6, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office confirmed that some CalFresh recipients have begun to see benefits payments arrive in full onto their EBT cards, after a judge ruled a second time that the White House must pay these benefits in full by Nov. 7. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it will comply with the court order and start sending out full November SNAP benefits.

But it’s not yet clear how these funds will continue to roll out, especially since the Trump administration asked a federal appeals court on Nov. 7 to block the judge’s order, and has now appealed to the Supreme Court after that request was denied.

How we got here: On Oct. 25, the USDA posted a notice to its site stating that “the well has run dry” and “At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01.”

On Nov. 3, President Donald Trump’s administration said it would use the USDA’s contingency fund to provide SNAP payments in November after all, having previously claimed that it could not tap this fund.

But the White House warned that payments would still only be half of people’s regular benefits, and that there could be lengthy delays before EBT cards are reloaded. And on Nov. 4, Trump again threatened to withhold SNAP payments entirely — before the judge ruled that the White House must pay these benefits in full.

San Francisco mayor Daniel Lurie announced Oct. 29 that the city’s roughly 112,000 residents on SNAP will have their benefits covered in November through an $18 million public-private partnership.

In the week of Nov. 3, the city’s Human Services Agency will mail instructions to CalFresh users on how they can access pre-paid gift cards that will cover that month’s benefits.

Contra Costa County has also announced plans to provide alternative funding for its CalFresh users through grocery debit cards.

According to June state data, there are 5.5 million Californians on CalFresh, the food nutrition program that supports lower-income residents and families. These include hundreds of thousands of people living in the Bay Area, where Alameda County has the highest share — 176,133 — of people using CalFresh.

• Jump straight to: What people on CalFresh should know right now

USDA manages SNAP on the national level and handles the costs of all benefits distributed to participants through Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards using federal dollars.

All CalFresh enrollees will see their payments affected in November, but people newly enrolling in the program have already been affected and gone without October payments.

“If you signed up in the month of October, you’re more than likely not going to receive any CalFresh benefits for the month of October, nor likely November,” said Assemblymember Alex Lee, who chairs the state Legislature’s Human Services Committee with oversight of CalFresh policy.

What should people on CalFresh know right now?

With so much uncertainty at the federal level, it’s not yet known what this SNAP “delay” could look like, and whether payments could still come through sometime in November on a later schedule.

As for CalFresh payments being back-issued when the government eventually reopens, “we’re not sure about retroactivity on certain things,” cautioned Lee.

• Tell us: Will your family be affected by the CalFresh delays?

During the last government shutdown — the longest in U.S. history, lasting 35 days from December 2018 to January 2019 during Trump’s first term — USDA initially said SNAP benefits would run out by the end of January 2019. But February 2019 SNAP benefits were ultimately distributed early at the end of January, although food stamp beneficiaries then had to wait until March for the next round of payments.

According to reporting by Bloomberg, this time around CalFresh recipients will still be able to use any benefits on their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards in November, if they have leftover funds in their account. And the state says that “as of now, you will be able to use your EBT card with your existing benefits as usual through the federal government shutdown.”

But Lee warned that CalFresh users should ultimately decide what’s right for them and their families, when it comes to spending down their funds now to stock up ahead of November or to save that money.

He also warned of the risk that layoffs and furloughs among the federal workers who manage SNAP’s IT systems could potentially impact the EBT system over the coming weeks. While CalFresh users “may still be able to use their EBT cards for the time being, they will probably come to a point … probably relatively soon where that system won’t function,” said Lee.

Newsom’s Monday statement also warned of “further stress on local food banks” as the Thanksgiving holiday draws closer. On Wednesday, Newsom announced that he would be “fast-tracking upwards of $80 million in state support” for food banks during the shutdown.

You can use the state’s tool to find a food bank near you and monitor the latest updates on CalFresh delays on the Department of Social Services site.

You can also learn about restaurants near you offering free and discounted meals to CalFresh recipients during the shutdown.

Fears about hunger amid SNAP delays

In California, seniors and children make up 63.2% of SNAP users, according to state data from last year. “More than likely, you know someone or you are someone that has needed CalFresh,” said Lee.

Advocates have expressed deep concern at the idea of CalFresh benefits being stopped or delayed in November because of the shutdown.

“CalFresh is a lifeline for more than 5 million Californians, including 2 million children,” said Shimica Gaskins, the president and CEO of End Child Poverty California. “It is unconscionable that families are just days away from major consequences to their November food benefits.”

Gaskins said that “even brief periods of hunger for children cause physical and psychological damage that brings lifelong harms to their growth and development,” and urged the USDA to “follow the law that SNAP is a federal entitlement, drawing on the contingency fund and any other resources, and direct states to issue full November benefits as soon as possible.”

How did we get here?

According to a letter obtained by Politico dated Oct. 10, the United States Department of Agriculture warned state nutrition agencies that it will run out of money if the shutdown continues to November.

USDA Acting Associate Administrator Ronald Ward wrote that “SNAP has funding available for benefits and operations through the month of October.”

However, “if the current lapse in appropriations continues, there will be insufficient funds to pay full November SNAP benefits for approximately 42 million individuals across the Nation,” wrote Ward.

The letter instructed state agencies to delay sending November benefit issuance files to vendors, who then disperse funds to people on SNAP — which includes people on CalFresh in California.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told reporters at the White House on Oct. 16 that SNAP would run out of money in two weeks if the shutdown continued.

On Oct. 24, Axios reported that a memo from USDA stated the agency wouldn’t use emergency money from its contingency funds to pay for SNAP during the shutdown.

A banner message on the state’s Department of Social Services website attributes the shutdown to “the failures of the President and Congress to continue government funding” and warns Californians visiting government websites like hhs.gov for more information to “be wary of potential highly partisan political messaging while visiting federal government websites” — a response to language posted to the official websites of various federal agencies that refers to “the Radical Left Democrat shutdown.”

How are other programs affected by the shutdown?

On Oct. 10, the Women, Infants & Children Supplemental Nutrition Program (WIC) received a $300 million infusion from President Donald Trump’s administration — which the White House said came from unspent tariff revenue from the last fiscal year. The California Department of Public Health has confirmed that these additional funds are allowing WIC to continue through the shutdown, through at least Nov. 30.

WIC provides food assistance to lower-income families who have young children or are expecting a new child, including grandparents. Like CalFresh, it’s federally funded and income-based, but you can receive WIC benefits on top of your CalFresh benefits. See if you qualify for WIC.

The state says it expects “to fund CalWORKs [Temporary Assistance for Needy Families] benefits for November 2025,” but that “a continued federal government shutdown will put December 2025 CalWORKs benefits at risk.”

The BenefitsCal website also warns that while “no immediate disruptions to Medi-Cal are expected, an extended federal shutdown lasting past December 2025 could impact the program.”

Social Security payments remain unaffected during the shutdown.

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