In response to looming SNAP pause, Sacramento shows out in support

As the federal government shutdown drags on, congressional indecision will mean a pause on food benefits for over 270,000 Sacramento County residents at least until Monday.

The USDA posted a notice to its website stating that due to gridlock in Congress, and Democrats holding out for “healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures,” the administration will pause all funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. 

It’s unclear how long the benefits will be delayed. Today, two federal judges ordered President Donald Trump to pay SNAP benefits. The administration must submit a plan for how it will pay by Monday, November 3.

In the face of the threat food insecurity poses, residents in the Sacramento region have responded with support.

“People are calling and asking, ‘How can we help?’” Genevieve Pyeatt, Yolo Food Bank Director of Programs said. “Our phone has not stopped ringing.”

According to Pyeatt, the Yolo Food Bank wants to directly support people affected by the pause in benefits in partnership with the Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency, by holding emergency food distributions at HHSA service centers.

“We’re hoping that if someone from CalFresh comes to their office to get support or ask questions, we’ll be there to hand them some food and to get them by hopefully for another couple of days,” Pyeatt said. 

Alchemist Community Development Corporation, working with organizations like NorCal Resist, has developed a regularly updated food resource map that users can use if they’re looking for free food pantries, fridges or food banks.

While the government did shut down back in 2019, there wasn’t a pause in benefits being issued to California residents. This time, according to River City Food Bank’s CalFresh Director Amy Dierlam, the state just doesn’t have the room in its budget.

“It would cost the state one billion dollars to cover the SNAP benefits,” Dierlam said. “Which we don’t have at this time.”

However, she wanted to make it clear that while some people may not receive their benefits, their benefits are not ending. Other similar programs, like the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC and CalWORKS will remain funded as well.

People who receive SNAP benefits are not the only residents that are going to suffer from the pause. According to Alchemist CDC’s Executive Director Sam Greenlee, their CalFresh Farmer’s Market program will take a huge hit. The program allows residents to exchange their CalFresh benefits for cash to use at farmer’s markets.

“We were on track to distribute $1.7 million in CalFresh at nine local markets this year,” Greenlee said. “Farmers depend on it, customers depend on it, and they’re going to feel the pinch while the program is shut down.”

These farms, many of which are small and locally owned, depend on this program to get by. One in particular, a small egg farm by the name of Dwayne and Eddison’s Eggery, will take a significant blow. The Eggery raises organic free range eggs and a lot of their proceeds come through these farmer’s markets

“I’d say about half of our sales do go through EBT,” said Joseph Reedy, the Eggery proprietor. “We’re unsure of how that’s going to look for what I would consider an extra purchase.”

According to Amanda McCarthy, the executive director at the River City Food Bank, they’ve seen an abundance of support from the Sacramento community in order to combat the potential pause.

Persimmons at River City Food Bank in Sacramento. Oct. 30, 2025Ruth Finch/CapRadio

“Sacramento is such an amazing community. There’s so much generosity here,” McCarthy said. “For as many people as we’ve heard saying, ‘I need help, I don’t know where to get food.’ I think we’ve heard from as many people saying, ‘I want to help.’”

McCarthy said that they heavily depend on the community to operate. 

“We can’t even open our doors without twenty to thirty volunteers on site,” McCarthy said. “We are seeing a lot of support in terms of volunteers, food drives, and donations. We are really grateful we’re seeing an uptick in that and it’s really sustaining us. We can’t do this work without the community.”

For Sacramento residents looking to donate to River City Food Bank, McCarthy said that fresh produce is always needed.

“One of our core values is health. About half of everything we give out at River City Food Bank is fresh produce, and that is probably the number one thing we purchase,” McCarthy said. “It is probably the most universally accepted and requested food that we have.”

Pyeatt at Yolo Food Bank said that when thinking of what to donate, think of what you want on your table.

“If you’re thinking of what you have in your own home or something that you enjoy,” Pyeatt said, “Pass that on to someone else.”