Several new changes to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, known as CalFresh in California, will take effect Monday.
At least one nonprofit organization in San Diego County said Friday it is rationing food to help a growing need for emergency food.
“We’re rationing now,” said Josh Bohannan, the chief strategist for Father Joe’s Villages. “It is going to get worse before it gets better if the policy continues to stay the same as it is.”
Earlier this month, he said, the organization ran out of food during a distribution event for the first time in recent memory, forcing volunteers to turn away about 200 drivers who typically form lines at the nonprofit’s pantry on E Street in San Diego.
On Friday, volunteers rationed hundreds of bags filled with fruit, canned goods, frozen food and cases of soft drinks.
“We’re doubling it up today,” said Johanne Trujillo, a warehouse manager for the organization. “I’m going to say we have about, hopefully, 600 bags to help out. And I’m hoping that’s enough.”
This time, there was enough.
After the two-hour event, a spokesperson said nearly all of the food and drinks were depleted, serving more than 1,000 people.
CalFresh benefits can be used to buy food at most grocery stores.
Signed into law last year, the One Big Beautiful Bill greenlit several changes to CalFresh benefits that have been taking effect this year. In April, some noncitizens became ineligible for benefits.
Come Monday, the new rules will require some adults to work or volunteer for 80 hours a month, and they’ll affect veterans and homeless people unless they are excused for other reasons. According to the San Diego Hunger Coalition, up to 96,000 people in San Diego County are expected to lose their ability to recertify for CalFresh as changes roll out throughout the year.
Roselle Jones said she's one of the several hundreds of thousands of Californians who have already lost their benefits. She said she didn’t meet the income requirements by about $100. Food distribution events like the one Father Joe’s Villages hosted Friday have become vital for her family of five.
“We have to learn how to cut corners now and just slack back on, you know, the things that we had (that) now we don't have," she said. "We just have to get out there and hustle some other kind of way to get money and food.”
