Bay Area residents face loss of SNAP food assistance as federal government shutdown drags on

By Katie Nielsen

More than five million people across California could see delays in their federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits if the federal shutdown continues, according to a warning from the US Department of Agriculture.

Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a warning Monday that California residents who depend on SNAP might not see their benefits loaded on their CalFresh cards at the start of the month if the shutdown extends past Thursday.

Five and a half million people get some kind of assistance every month in California to buy groceries. The majority are for low-income seniors or households with children.

CBS News Bay Area talked with one recipient who says he didn’t want to give us his name because he was worried his benefits might be shut off for speaking out.

He said he’s working full-time and drives Uber, but it’s still not enough to make ends meet. 

“Two hundred and ninety-six dollars [in SNAP benefits] doesn’t get you very far when you’re feeding a couple of people,” the unidentified man said, specifying that the $296 is for himself, another adult and two children, and without it, they’ll have to make some tough decisions.

“Either skipping meals, or borrowing money or hoping that more money comes through,” he said, adding he feels lucky he can drive Uber to help make up the difference, but he’s frustrated. He says it’s not fair that political gamesmanship is impacting real families.

“What can you do, you know? What can you do?” he asks.

“We are absolutely on the precipice of a hunger emergency,” said Allison Pratt with the Alameda County Community Food Bank, who expects their organization and other food banks will see a surge in people needing help if the benefits are delayed.

“SNAP is really our nation’s first defense against hunger,” Pratt said. “So, am I going to pay rent or am I going to buy groceries this month? These are the decisions people are going to be forced to make.”

For families already living paycheck to paycheck, recovering from a financial setback isn’t easy.

“The impact is going to be for a long time here,” said the unidentified SNAP recipient. “I don’t think we’re going to recover anytime soon.”

It’s not just California that will be impacted. It’s food stamp programs in every state that rely on those federal funds. Each state has its own cutoff day to reload the food stamp cards, and for California, that’s on Thursday.