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By Tami Luhby, Alisha Ebrahimji, René Marsh, CNN (CNN) — When Trena Picou heard that the US Department of Agriculture agreed last week to issue partial food stamp benefits for November to comply with a federal court order, she was hopeful that she’d get around half of her usual $263 allotment. The funds would help buy meat, potatoes, beans and rice for the two teen grandsons that she and her husband are raising. But the Houma, Louisiana, resident only received $64, which just covered a few packs of meat, cereal and milk and nearly brought her to tears. A few days later, her hopes were raised again when the USDA said it was processing full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, payments to comply with another court order. But the judge’s ruling was quickly blocked by the Supreme Court, which left her depressed but not surprised. Now, she’s pinning her hopes on Congress soon passing a spending package that could reopen the federal government and get full SNAP assistance flowing again to tens of millions of Americans who depend on the aid to feed themselves and their families. The couple has had to use part of their disability payments to cover the grocery tab, leaving them worried about paying for rent and utilities. Though she’s had to deal with the uncertainty surrounding this month’s food stamp benefits since the USDA announced in October that it didn’t have the funds to pay them, the twists and turns of the past week or so have been “way worse.” “You make plans to buy groceries and then it’s gone,” Picou, 68, said of the potential to receive their benefits. “It’s pulling the rug out from under you, and you think ‘What am I going to do now?” Millions of SNAP recipients like Picou have been suffering whiplash this month, with the USDA issuing four different guidance memos to states about distributing at least some benefits and the two lawsuits that aim to force the agency to issue payments working their way through multiple levels of the US courts system. A federal judge in Rhode Island first ordered USDA to provide at least partial benefits but last week expanded his ruling to require the agency to pay full benefits. The Supreme Court on Friday evening temporarily paused the judge’s order to require full payments to be distributed. Meanwhile, the Senate voted Monday on a short-term spending bill that would reopen the federal government for now but fund SNAP for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends September 30. The benefits are starting to hit enrollees’ EBT cards, but it varies greatly by state. Some recipients of the program 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. With her eyes on the mail and ear to her phone, Katherine Broadway is on high alert for any piece of communication about the return of her vital food assistance, nearly $700 each month for her family of four. The only form of communication she’s received is an automated message about delayed payments from the number on the back of her benefits card. “It is getting absolutely frustrating for us,” she said. “We keep getting told one thing about SNAP and then five minutes later it’s not coming,” said Broadway, a retail worker from Northeast Ohio with two young daughters and a stay-at-home husband. “We are growing very impatient at this point for relief for the country in general.” Meanwhile, the couple had to take a payday loan to afford groceries they’re hoping carry them throughout the next two weeks. Despite the stress of doing mental gymnastics to balance her pantry and refrigerator with her bank account, she is putting on a brave face for her daughters while holding onto hope that the tough times don’t last. “I won’t lie, I have my little mental breakdowns,” she said. “I will go in the bathroom and I will cry because I am feeling so overwhelmed.” In Grand Island, Nebraska, Anthony Harris continues to wait for his family’s $389 in monthly SNAP assistance, while his mother in California received her full allotment on Friday after the Golden State rushed to distribute full benefits to its residents. He checks his EBT card daily but has yet to receive any benefits. Nebraska’s SNAP website continues to say that November payments “may be delayed or disrupted” due to the federal government shutdown. When the USDA said last week that it would provide partial and then full benefits, Harris figured he could buy more food for his 16-month-old son, Anthony, Jr, who particularly likes ravioli and spaghetti and meatballs. “We actually thought we’d have food this month and not have to worry,” said Harris, 46, who along with his wife, Tanya, have been going hungry at times to make sure their son has enough to eat. Now he’s doubtful that Nebraska will provide even partial benefits anytime soon. So he is going to work full time at Burger King, even though his current part-time position leaves him in great pain in his back and feet. Even residents who have received at least partial benefits are confused and concerned. They are worried about spending the funds on their EBT cards since they’ve heard that USDA wants states to undo the distribution, said Jimmy Chen, CEO of Propel, an app that 5.5 million SNAP households use to manage their benefits. They think they may owe money to the government if they use the cards. Also, those receiving partial payments are asking Propel why they received that amount. They fear that a mistake was made or that they’ll get the reduced amount going forward, Chen said. “There are a lot of things we’re asking families to juggle right now,” he told CNN. (A Department of Justice attorney, who is representing the USDA in court, told a federal judge Monday that the agency is not looking to rescind the funds on recipients’ cards.) For some SNAP beneficiaries, the ever-shifting landscape has just been too much to bear. While Onita Norris has tried to keep up with the constantly shifting legal and political developments surrounding SNAP funding, she admits she’s not tracking every update because it just causes “unnecessary added stress.” The Martinsburg, West Virginia, resident has yet to receive any funds for November. For her mental health, the single mother of two young children is limiting how closely she monitors the news. “I could obviously use the money, but I’m not going to keep logging in (into her SNAP account) and refreshing when it seems like they haven’t figured this out,” said Norris. Despite reports of a potential breakthrough in Congress to end the shutdown, she remains skeptical. “Just because they say it doesn’t mean that’s what’s going to happen,” she said. “Until I actually see something hit my account, it’s very much, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it.’” CNN’s Devan Cole contributed to this report.
