By Robert J. Hansen
Updated Nov. 3
Beginning Saturday, Nov. 1, Sacramento County residents who rely on CalFresh, California’s version of the federal SNAP program, were due to stop receiving benefits indefinitely as the government shutdown halts funding.
Nearly 270,000 county residents who depend on the monthly aid for food are scrambling to feed themselves and their families. With no timeline for the shutdown’s end, local officials warn of a growing food crisis that could worsen poverty, strain the local economy, and push more residents toward homelessness.
For Dennis McGlothen, 58, the $298 a month he receives in food assistance is his only income.
“That’s all I have. That’s all I get because I can’t work,” said McGlothen, a former occupant of Camp Resolution who received housing in July. “I’m very concerned, not just for myself, but what about other people — people that’s older than me and can’t go out to get a hustle? It’s going to be very bad if people don’t get their food stamps.”
Before being housed, McGlothen often cooked for others at the encampment and shared what little food he had. He said food benefits are vital for survival, especially for people with no family or support.
“Food stamps are very vital to people’s survival out here,” McGlothen told The OBSERVER
The Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance and the Department of Homeless Services and Housing have alerted CalFresh recipients through text messages, social media, and community partners. “Because of the shutdown, at this time CalFresh benefits will not be funded for the month of November,” the county said in a statement, noting that “thousands of children will be affected.”
Ethan Dye, the county’s director of human assistance, said the department is working to ensure accurate information reaches residents. “This federal shutdown has created significant uncertainty for families who rely on CalFresh,” he said. “While the county does not control federal funding, our focus is on making sure residents have clear information and know where to turn for local resources.”
According to county data, 88,000 CalFresh recipients are under 18, 48,000 are 60 or older, and 241,000 are enrolled in both Medi-Cal and CalFresh.
Early this month, the food assistance program Women Infants and Children received a limited infusion of tariff funds from the White House to keep the program running during the shutdown, but the measure is temporary and expected to last only a few weeks. State agencies warn they cannot plan beyond that and already are reducing services. Other child nutrition programs, such as school lunch and breakfast programs, will continue operating in the short term, while summer meal programs remain unaffected. The Department of Agriculture has issued a contingency plan, but the long-term outlook depends on how long the shutdown continues.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Oct. 22 the deployment of the California National Guard and California Volunteers to assist food banks as the federal shutdown delays food benefits for millions of families. He is also fast-tracking up to $80 million in state aid, mirroring the emergency response that helped distribute more than 800 million meals during the pandemic.
“Trump’s failure … it’s literally taking food out of people’s mouths. Millions of Americans rely on food benefits to feed their families, and while Republicans in Washington drag their feet, California is stepping up once again to fill in the gaps,” Newsom said in a statement.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Tuesday that his office and a coalition of states are suing the Department of Agriculture for suspending SNAP food benefits during the shutdown.
Two federal judges — John J. McConnell Jr. in Rhode Island and Indira Talwani in Massachusetts — ruled on Oct. 31 that the U.S. Department of Agriculture must continue funding the SNAP program during the ongoing shutdown by tapping its contingency reserves, rejecting the administration’s conclusion that it lacked legal authority.
They ordered the USDA to report by Monday on how it will comply — whether by making partial November payments from contingency funds or fully funding the program from additional sources.
The White House responded to the rulings stating that the administration will use approximately $4.65 billion from the program’s contingency funds to cover part of the November allotments, while reiterating its position that full funding is legally unfeasible without Congressional action amid the ongoing shutdown.
Donald Trump said on his Truth Social network that “If we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court, it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding, just like I did with Military and Law Enforcement Pay.”
Carlos Marquez III, executive director of the County Welfare Directors Association of California, told KCRA that local administrators are being forced to warn families about an imminent loss of aid. He emphasized three points he wants the public to understand. Recipients will be entitled to back benefits once federal funding resumes, even if November payments are delayed. Any remaining balance on EBT welfare cards from October can still be used throughout November. And people should continue to apply for CalFresh, since eligible families will receive benefits retroactively when the government reopens.
Community advocates said the halt will hit low-income families hardest.
The trickle-down effect to these cuts will be felt up and down the economy. According to a Newsweek report, Walmart accounts for roughly a quarter (24 percent) of SNAP spending and stands to lose billions with SNAP benefits halting in November. The National Grocer’s Association noted that SNAP spending supports over 388,000 jobs and generates over $20 billion in wages and $4.5 billion in tax revenue.
Earlier this year, with the reconciliation bill passed by Congress in July, sweeping cuts were already made to the SNAP program. New work rules for able-bodied adults through age 64 and parents with children ages 14 and up were put into place. Additionally, exclusions from work requirements were eliminated for veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and people ages 18 to 24 who were in foster care when they turned 18.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that these provisions will reduce participation in SNAP by roughly 2.4 million people in an average month over the 2025-2034 period. According to a 2025 analysis by the Public Policy Institute of California, approximately 63% of working-age adults in households that receive CalFresh benefits have some employment during the year. Many who work or go to school will be subjected to onerous paperwork and if they fail to do so, may be limited to receiving SNAP for only three months in a three-year period.
Herman Barahona, co-founder of the Sacramento Environmental Justice Coalition, said many organizations are waiting for state direction and that food banks lack the capacity to meet the coming demand. “The State of California would have to make some announcements on what happens next,” he said. “We’re holding to see if there are any agreements to fund it through state sources or to develop new efforts to supply food for people. We don’t know what’s going to happen with people who cannot buy food in November other than going to the food banks, which we know do not have capacity to serve 267,000 people.”
Barahona said Sacramento’s food insecurity crisis has persisted for years and reflects systemic failures that predate the current shutdown. He described the connection between food assistance and housing as part of a “pipeline to homelessness,” explaining that many unhoused residents once relied on programs like CalFresh or Medi-Cal before losing stability. “These numbers have been high for a while now,” he said. “All of the folks that end up on the streets have, at some point, faced all kinds of conditions that throw them into the streets.”
Crystal Sanchez, president of the Sacramento Homeless Union, said the loss of CalFresh will ripple through the economy. “Grocers lose tons of customers right away. SNAP spending accounts for billions every year at grocery stores, and when that disappears, stores in low-income neighborhoods get hit first and hardest,” she said. “The whole local economy starts to crumble. Cutting SNAP doesn’t just mean empty stomachs—it triggers a public health emergency.”
Sanchez said reduced spending will mean layoffs, smaller paychecks, and cuts to city services. “When SNAP disappears, the pain doesn’t stay at the bottom—it quickly climbs all the way up the ladder,” she said.
Sanchez also pointed out that food insecurity can become a public health and housing crisis. She said families facing hunger make impossible choices—skipping meals, diluting food, or rationing medicine to get by. Children who go to school hungry struggle to learn, while seniors forgo prescriptions to stretch their budgets.
“When people have the basics, everyone benefits—not just SNAP families, but every business and worker connected to the food industry and beyond,” Sanchez said. “Keeping SNAP going is how we keep the whole economy and all our families from falling off a cliff. When we pull SNAP, we pull the rug out from under everyone.”
McGlothen said if SNAP payments stop, he plans to get by with help from family, food banks, and local donors. Many others, he said, won’t have that safety net. “A lot of people that are homeless don’t have family or have lost contact with their family,” he said. “I have family that I can depend on getting stuff from or from donors and I can go to the food banks.”
He said he still tries to help others when he can, keeping food ready in case someone comes by his home hungry. “My friends come by every day. To take a shower or because they are hungry. I got something in there cooking right now on my stove just in case somebody comes by and they’re hungry.”
“Nobody should ever go hungry.”
With the possibility of delays in distribution of November SNAP benefits (also known as CalFresh), recipients should understand where to find food. Our friends at Alchemist CDC have put together a good map of distribution sites and dates/times (https://alchemistcdc.org/food-map/).
Further updates on the situation can be accessed on the Sacramento County website (https://ha.saccounty.gov/Pages/default.aspx).
EDITOR’S NOTE:This is being reported with the support of the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism’s 2025 Ethnic Media Collaborative, Healing California, and Solving Sacramento.
