Food banks assist families following delay in SNAP funds
Built on a holiday surrounding food and quality time with family, many view the month of November as a time to celebrate gratitude for the past year. However, due to the government shutdown, 42 million people across the United States have been unable to afford food and basic necessities, as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP] funds have been delayed. Within Ventura County, local food banks have responded by increasing their production to further support families facing food insecurity during this time.
SNAP, or CalFresh, provides food benefits to low-income families. According to the California Department of Social Services, CalFresh is the largest food program in California. While it is state-supervised and county-operated, SNAP is federally mandated and funded by the federal government. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA], SNAP served an average of 41.7 million participants per month in the 2024 fiscal year, spending a total of $99.8 billion and benefits averaging $187.20 per recipient per month. Within California, approximately 5.5 million people rely on CalFresh, including roughly 2 million children.
Because SNAP is a federal program, the government shutdown has resulted in a pause of funding for the November payment for SNAP recipients. According to the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, the government shutdown not only compromises SNAP, but also other food operations, including farm programs, food inspection, animal and plant disease protection, rural development and protecting federal lands. The USDA stated that “the well has run dry” in reference to the funding of SNAP. “We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance,” the USDA website stated.
On Nov. 6, the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island found that the federal government is illegally withholding available funds for SNAP, and must make these funds available to all states. While these funds were not released immediately, it began the process of requiring the federal government to direct funds to the program supporting Americans facing food insecurity, according to a news article from the California Governor website. California CalFresh recipients began seeing their full November benefits loaded later that day; people will continue to receive their benefits on their usual processing date, according to the California Department of Social Services.
Even with the government shutdown and lack of federal funding and support, local organizations and food banks have continued to provide services to those in need. Food Share Ventura County is a 501(c)3 charity providing food for over 250,000 people annually. In addition to government support, Food Share receives financial support through fundraising events, grants, corporate giving and other funding streams. Brian Fisher, Chief Operations Officer for Food Share, has been working with the program for five years. In response to the ongoing government shutdown, Food Share increased the amount of food available at each pantry site in the middle of October, as well as increasing the amount of product on order through the end of the year. “Depending on [the pantry’s] capacity to store additional product, [Food Share] sent pallets of shelf stable food to select sites to accommodate for the projected increase in demand,” Fisher said.
With warehouses located in Oxnard, Food Share works with hundreds of volunteers to prepare and distribute food, as well as coordinating with food pantries across Ventura County to collect food for their local distributions. An increase in demand for food began with federal employees and contractors near the Naval Base Ventura County, but has since impacted 40,000 families within Ventura County. “Food Share will be here to serve the community for the long haul. We are the safety net to the government’s safety net. Disasters come in many different forms,” Fisher said. “The prompt end to the government shut down and restoration of missed pay and SNAP benefits to all impacted is the best possible resolution.” According to Food Share Ventura County, 2.8 million pounds of food were distributed by Food Share to over 20,000 people across Thousand Oaks and the Conejo Valley in 2024.
Along with local food banks, the Conejo Valley Unified School District [CVUSD] has reminded students of the free meal resource available at all CVUSD schools, as stated in the Weekly Communication Snapshot sent out on Nov. 3. They noted that the government shutdown will not affect the CVUSD meal service, and that all students will continue to be offered a free breakfast and lunch meal every school day. “The CVUSD is committed to providing every student with access to nutritious meals and the essential resources they need to succeed in the classroom and beyond,” the snapshot wrote.
On Nov. 12, President Donald Trump signed a bill to fund the government, putting an end to the longest government shutdown in history. With the end of the shutdown, all funding within the USDA is restored, and SNAP payments should resume within 24 hours, according to USA TODAY.
