Many SNAP recipients remain in limbo as lingering shutdown, court battles jeopardize their access to food

Volunteers distribute donated food items at Curley's House Food Bank in Miami, Florida, US, on November 4, 2025. Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Tens of millions of Americans who rely on the nation’s largest federal food assistance program have been caught in a weekslong swirl of Trump administration pronouncements, court orders and anxiety since the US government shutdown has called their ability to buy groceries into question.

Some recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, the program formerly known as food stamps, have received their full benefits this month, while others have only received a fraction of their usual allotment, while still others remain in limbo , uncertain if or when their payments will arrive.

In response, a group of De