Pasadena’s 17,000 SNAP Recipients to Receive Full Benefits After Federal Judge Orders USDA to Restore Funding

Pasadena’s roughly 17,000 residents who depend on food assistance will now receive their full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for November after a federal judge ruled Thursday that the Trump administration must fully cover payments nationwide.

The order by U.S. District Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island requires the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to immediately release billions of dollars so that full food stamp benefits can be distributed. McConnell said the government acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” earlier this week when it announced plans to issue only partial benefits due to limited funds during the federal shutdown.

“People have gone without for too long,” McConnell said during the emergency hearing. “Not making payments to them for even another day is simply unacceptable.”

The decision overturns the USDA’s previous plan to reduce maximum SNAP allotments by 35% for November. That partial-benefit plan had been developed to comply with an earlier court order directing the agency to use a $4.65 billion contingency fund to maintain limited aid during the shutdown.

McConnell’s new ruling goes further, ordering USDA to draw from an additional reserve of federal money so that full payments can resume immediately. States, which administer SNAP, must receive the funds by Friday, according to the court’s directive.

The ruling affects nearly 42 million Americans who rely on food stamps each month. Benefits are typically distributed on a rolling schedule, meaning some recipients had already gone without aid for days or weeks.

In Pasadena, local food pantries and churches that had been bracing for deeper cuts welcomed the news Thursday evening. “This ruling is a lifeline,” said one local food program director. “It means families who were facing empty cupboards will get the help they’ve been waiting for.”

The federal government has not yet said whether it will appeal the ruling.

For now, CalFresh participants in Pasadena are expected to see their full November benefits restored, though state officials cautioned that technical updates to payment systems could still cause short delays.