Are you concerned about losing your CalFresh benefits? Richmondside would like to hear from you. Please email us at hello@richmondside.org or share your thoughts confidentially via our story tip page.
Bracing for the grim possibility of thousands of Contra Costa residents losing federal food benefits due to the government shutdown, food banks and pantries serving Richmond and surrounding areas are bulking up on supplies and telling the public not to worry. They have enough food. And it’s free.
“We’re doing everything in our power to get ready for an increase in need,” said Jeremy Crittenden, spokesperson for the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano.
This includes looking for ways to increase food supplies and monitoring any potential increase in requests in case they need to up the number of distribution sites, he told Richmondside.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced that due to the federal shutdown it’s suspending SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) starting Sat., Nov.1. The federal program gives money to eligible low-income residents to help pay for groceries. (The program is called CalFresh in California.)
“Bottom line, the well has run dry,” the USDA said on its website as it announced the stoppage, blaming Senate Democrats for not approving a Republican-led funding bill.The shut-down is entering its fourth week, with almost no progress toward an agreement.
On Tuesday 25 states, including California, announced they’re suing the USDA for unlawfully suspending SNAP benefits.
“. . . the lawsuit points out that USDA has funds available to it that are sufficient to cover all or a large portion of November SNAP benefits, and that suspending benefits — when USDA is sitting on billions of dollars in contingency funds — is both contrary to law and arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA),” said a statement on the lawsuit by California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
Do you need help getting food?
Find free food near you: The Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano’s Find Food tool, which you can search by zip code, lists free food distribution sites across Contra Costa and Solano counties, including numerous soup kitchens or places offering free cooked meals and pantries or programs giving away groceries.
For more information: Call the food bank at 855-309-FOOD (3663).
To help the food bank: As always, the food bank is accepting donations. Check its “Ways to Donate” page for information.
A hearing on the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, is scheduled for Thursday.
“November SNAP benefits can and must be provided, even with the government shutdown. USDA not only has authority to use contingency funds, it has a legal duty to spend all available dollars to fund SNAP benefits,” Bonta said.
Contra Costa plans to replace federal food benefit cuts, if needed
A potential source of relief for those losing CalFresh is emerging from Contra Costa County. County supervisor John Gioia, who represents much of west county, including Richmond, told Richmondside Wednesday the county is working on a plan to replace the equivalent amount that county residents receive from the federal program.
As with SNAP/CalFresh, the county would give CalFresh recipients a pre-loaded debit card to be used for grocery purchases for one month. Details are still being worked out, Gioia said.
The cost would be about $20 million for a month and would come from county reserves.
“Our plan is to provide recipients with an equivalent benefit,” he said, adding that San Francisco County is planning a similar approach.
The board of supervisors will consider the plan at its regular Nov. 4 meeting at 9 a.m. in Martinez. (The agenda will be posted on Thursday.)
If CalFresh is halted, about 10,300 households in Richmond will find themselves with less money for food, according to August Contra Costa County data.
The benefit, which is intended to supplement a family’s food budget, provides monthly cash on special debit cards for grocery purchases. Eligibility, which must be regularly updated, is based on income. Undocumented immigrants are not eligible.
Countywide, about 64,000 households receive the federal benefit. Statewide it’s about 3.2 million, and nationally more than 42 million people get help from SNAP.
More than 10,000 Richmond households rely on CalFresh
If CalFresh is halted, about 10,393 households in Richmond will find themselves with less money for food, according to Contra Costa County data from August.
The benefit, which is intended to supplement a family’s food budget, provides monthly cash on special debit cards for grocery purchases. Eligibility, which must be regularly updated, is based on income. Undocumented immigrants are not eligible.
According to the California Legislative Analyst’s Office, a bipartisan agency that advises the state Legislature, the average CalFresh benefit in 2024 was about $189 a month per person and $316 per household. Amounts depend on income, household size, and expenses, and there are ceilings.
The Contra Costa/Solano food bank, which partners with numerous local food donation organizations and efforts, has already been in high gear anticipating an increase in food requests from federal employees who are suddenly without a paycheck due to the shutdown, said Jonathan Ho, a food bank CalFresh outreach coordinator.
He’s been hearing from an increased number of federal workers who are asking how to apply for food assistance, from people serving in the military to TSA workers to employees of federal agencies.
There’s worry out there and lots of misinformation, Ho said.
The threat of the suspension of CalFresh amplifies needs and fear.
“For next month we’re anticipating a lot more people,” Ho said. He wants local residents to know they have food available. “We’re really encouraging people right now to visit our pantries and our food bank.”
The increased demand for food comes at a time when food banks are also prepping for the holidays, always a time of increased need.
Loss of food benefits before holidays would add considerable pressure to families, food banks
A spokesperson for U.S. Rep. John Garamendi, who represents Richmond, said the congressman was among 2,012 congressional members who sent a letter to the USDA last week demanding it fund SNAP.
The congressman called on the USDA not to hold CalFresh hostage during the shutdown, said Rogan Zangari, a Garamendi press assistant in Washington, D.C. Garamendi told the USDA to keep funding SNAP/CalFresh with its $5 billion contingency reserve, as cited in the lawsuit.
“A pause in benefits would take effect just before Thanksgiving, putting additional strain on food banks and pantries during one of their busiest seasons,” said a statement on the CalFresh situation from Garamendi’s office.
Crittenden said this is the first time the food bank has faced this kind of threat. In past federal shutdowns, CalFresh benefits weren’t affected.
But he said, he’s confident there will be enough food.
“We want to reassure people we’ve been here for 50 years, we’re prepared and we’re ready to help if we do see benefits suspended next month, as well as an extended shut-down, ” he said.
While confident it has enough resources to help people through today’s uncertainties, the food bank is always looking for donations. Check its “Ways to Donate” page on how.
