A Tucson-based investigative journalist who receives SNAP said Arizona warned in late October 2025 that November benefits could be delayed during a federal government shutdown tied to a dispute over expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies. Court orders and rapid legal appeals contributed to a shifting national patchwork of partial, delayed or restored payments, while food pantries and mutual-aid groups reported increased demand.
In October 2025, the federal government shut down amid a dispute over extending Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies that were set to expire. The lapse in funding created uncertainty for federal nutrition assistance, including SNAP, as states prepared for payment disruptions.
Gabbriel Schivone, an investigative journalist based in Tucson, Arizona, wrote in The Nation that on October 24, 2025, they received a notice from the Arizona Department of Economic Security warning that November 2025 nutrition assistance benefits would not be placed on EBT cards until federal funding was available. The notice attributed the delay to instructions from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Nationally, roughly 42 million people rely on SNAP, according to reporting by ABC News and the Associated Press. With the shutdown continuing into early November, some states and advocacy groups pursued legal action seeking to compel the federal government to release contingency funds for benefits.
In Arizona, Gov. Katie Hobbs said the state did not have the capacity to replace SNAP payments if federal benefits were interrupted, according to an October 24, 2025, report by the Arizona Capitol Times. Days later, Hobbs’ office and Arizona Capitol Times reported the governor directed $1.8 million in federal pandemic-relief funds to support food banks and related assistance as the state braced for higher demand.
Schivone described turning to local food support networks, including the Campus Pantry in Tucson, which The Nation said served several hundred visitors a day—an increase the pantry put at 119% since 2019. The Nation also cited University of Arizona reporting indicating a substantial share of students—estimated between 32% and 52% over the period studied—experienced food insecurity.
At the Campus Pantry, Schivone interviewed a custodian identified by the pseudonym “Maria,” originally from Hermosillo, Mexico, who said she had worked on the University of Arizona campus for 11 years and was supporting two college-aged children. Maria told Schivone she did not qualify for SNAP because her household income was just above eligibility limits, and she described rising costs as making the year especially difficult.
The SNAP funding dispute quickly moved through the courts. On November 6, 2025, ABC News reported that U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr. ordered the Trump administration to fully fund SNAP for November, criticizing delays and warning that millions—including children—were at risk. The administration sought emergency relief at the Supreme Court, and major outlets including the Associated Press and The Washington Post reported that the Court temporarily blocked efforts to enforce full payments nationwide, contributing to a mixed situation in which some recipients received partial benefits and others faced delays.
By November 7, 2025, Arizona’s state agency notified recipients that USDA had approved issuance of full November benefits, with availability beginning as early as that day, The Nation reported. In other states, officials announced that full benefits would follow USDA guidance and court rulings on their normal issuance schedules.
After the shutdown, the debate over SNAP continued. Separately from the shutdown litigation, the Associated Press reported in February 2026 on a legal fight over the Trump administration’s efforts to require states to provide more detailed data on SNAP recipients, including immigration-status information.
Schivone also recounted reconnecting with Brandon, a volunteer with Tucson Food Share, as the two discussed ongoing mutual-aid efforts. And as national policymakers debated changes to the program, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins argued in a January 2026 interview that SNAP should be temporary, saying, “The American dream is not being on [a] food stamp program… That should be a hand up, not a handout,” according to ABC News.
