Michael Logerwell
DENVER, Colo. (KRDO) – On Saturday Morning, a little more than 30,000 Coloradans checked their Electronic Benefit Transfer account, or EBT, and were surprised to find their full November SNAP benefits deposited.
But even more Coloradans, specifically 560,000, found their SNAP accounts still empty. Colorado Governor Jared Polis says that shouldn’t be the case.
RELATED: About 5% of SNAP recipients get their full benefits in Colorado
“Nothing is preventing the Trump administration from fully funding SNAP benefits. They are simply choosing not to,” the governor said in a statement sent to KRDO13 on Sunday.
This past week has been a whirlwind for recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP. At the beginning of November, no SNAP funds were sent out to the millions of Americans who rely on the program to feed themselves and their households.
Then, two federal judges ruled that SNAP benefits needed to be paid out for November, despite the ongoing government shutdown. Shortly after that, the United States Supreme Court put a complete pause on the benefit reimbursement for November.
RELATED: USDA orders states to stop issuing full SNAP benefits and to ‘undo’ benefits sent for November
Most recently, national media outlets have reported that the USDA has gone as far as to ask states to undo the benefits that were sent out.
KRDO13 asked Governor Jared Polis about the most recent news and was provided with the following statement (article continues after):
“Nothing is preventing the Trump administration from fully funding SNAP benefits. They are simply choosing not to. Following court orders last week, the state worked diligently to provide full SNAP benefits. As a result, nearly 32,000 Coloradans received full support to put food on the table before the Administration asked the Supreme Court to halt all efforts to keep children and families fed. The state has not reversed those payments as they were allowed at the time. The state is moving to provide remaining eligible Coloradans SNAP payments in alignment with the updated guidance received today from USDA, which allows benefits of up to 65%. Those Coloradans who will get the reduced benefits should begin to see those payments over the next few days. The fastest way to clean up this mess would be for the federal government to drop its court appeals.”
-Governor Jared Polis (D)
The Colorado Department of Human Services further clarified what Colorado SNAP recipients can expect in the coming days.
“Based on this new, complex guidance, partial benefits will ‘reflect the 35 percent reduction of maximum allotments’ based on household size,” a CDHS spokesperson said. If you still have specific questions, CDHS provided a link to a calculator that can help individuals figure out exactly how much they are slated to receive under these new guidelines.
With the new guidelines from the federal government, CDHS says nearly 50,000 Colorado households will receive $16 or less.
“While this situation continues to evolve, the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) and its technical partners have resumed processing under this new directive and are taking steps to issue payments onto SNAP recipients’ Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards as rapidly as possible. If current guidance stays in place, these much needed partial SNAP funds will be available to more than 500,000 Coloradans this coming week.”
“CDHS continues to monitor both the shutdown and guidance from the federal government and will issue additional information as available to ensure Coloradans are up to date on any ongoing impacts to their benefits.”
-Colorado Department of Human Services Spokesperson
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This photo shows the proposed location for the new bus shelter on Frederick Avenue. 
