Trump ordered to fully fund SNAP, Californians wake up to full EBT cards

RICHMOND, Calif. - Ever since last month, when the federal government said they were cutting off food assistance to low-income Americans, Lisa Trujillo of Richmond has been checking her account, checking to see how much money she has on it.

Full EBT card

On Friday morning, she woke up early to a pleasant surprise. Her Electronic Benefit Transfer, known as an EBT card, was full: $298. 

She gets that payment each month. 

"I really appreciate that it came through today," she said. "So, yeah, we're going shopping." 

Trujillo said she called a couple of friends, including one in Solano County, and their cards were full, too.

"I think everybody should be fine now," she said. 

5.5M CalFresh recipients

It was not immediately clear how many others on federal food assistance were also getting their payments throughout the country. But it appears that the 5.5 million Californians on food assistance began receiving their full payments as early as Thursday.

Jeremy Crittenden, spokesman for the Contra Costa and Solano County Food Bank, said it looks like full benefits are being paid out for November, and that the California Department of Social Services is dispersing the funds. 

He added that while many Californians seem to be getting their EBT cards reloaded, he's heard of other people who have not. 

And he was not immediately clear if the rest of the country was also following suit. 

"We don't quite know how that's working in other states," he said. 

He also wondered what would happen next month. 

"Unfortunately, there is just a lot of chaos in our community," Crittenden said. "You know, how do you plan for the holidays? How do you know if December benefits are going to come? How do we know if the shutdown is going to continue? So there's just so many unknowns that unfortunately, our community members are having to deal with, and it just makes it difficult."

Other states, like Oregon, Washington, Michigan and Wisconsin, were also reporting that their food programs had been restored, too.  The piecemeal approach to the SNAP payment restorations was not explained. 

Waking up happy 

Those who received the restored food assistance payments were happy that they did. 

"I woke up at 2 a.m. to check my card and saw the full amount," Akela Anderson, 46, of Richmond said.

She's a single mother of two who works at the Auto Zone, but doesn't earn enough to make ends meet. She gets $546 a month in food assistance.

Before the money came through, she was poised to head to the food bank this weekend. 

Judge's order 

Many in the country have been worried about how they would buy groceries after the US Department of Agriculture signaled it wouldn't pay for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits after Nov. 1 because of the federal government shutdown.

Many states, including California, sued, and on Thursday, U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr. in Rhode Island gave President Donald Trump’s administration until Friday to make the payments through SNAP.

"This should never happen in America," the judge said during a tense but brief hearing.

Many speculated that despite the ruling, it would be unlikely the 42 million Americans — about 1 in 8, most of them in poverty — will see the money on the debit cards they use for groceries nearly that quickly. In California, the SNAP program is called CalFresh. 

Trump appeal 

Shortly after the judges’ rulings, lawyers for the Trump administration filed a motion to appeal, contesting both Thursday’s decision and the earlier one last Saturday that ordered the federal government to use emergency reserves to fund the food program throughout November.

On Friday, the federal appeals court left Thursday's order in place, requiring the Trump administration to provide full SNAP food benefits for November amid the government shutdown. 

The Trump administration had asked the appeals court to suspend any court orders requiring it to spend more money than is available in a contingency fund, and instead allow it to continue with planned partial SNAP payments for the month. 

By Friday evening, the Trump administration turned to the Supreme Court to block the order to fully fund SNAP food aid payments, which they eventually did. 

The USDA on Friday had a big sign on its website, blaming Democrats for the SNAP issues, while also proclaiming in big bold letters: "We are here for you."

There was no information on the federal site about whether SNAP had been restored throughout the country or not.

But despite that appeal, people like Shari Hall, 48, of San Jose, who was laid off from a tech job in 2023, got her full $298 EBT payment on Thursday. 

She hasn't found a full-time job in the last two years and has been driving for Uber to pay some bills.

"I was surprised that I got the money so fast," Hall said. "I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I had been stressing." 

To find out if your EBT card is full too, call the California Department of Social Services at 877-328-9677. 

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