San Diego County recipients of CalFresh will start seeing their November benefits loaded onto their EBT cards over the next several days, the county announced Friday.
The process began Thursday night after a federal court ruled in favor of restoring full benefits during the ongoing government shutdown, according to the state.
CalFresh is the California version of the federal food assistance program also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly referred to as EBT or food stamps. The program is entirely federally funded, but is managed by states and administered by counties.
The orders came in rulings by two federal judges who told the U.S. Department of Agriculture separately Friday that it must begin using billions of dollars in contingency funding to provide federal food assistance to needy families despite the federal shutdown — but gave the agency until Monday to decide how to do so.
The benefits are headed to Californians despite claims from President Trump's Administration that it would not heed the court orders.
"It's an absurd ruling because you have a federal judge effectively telling us what we have to do in the middle of a Democrat government shutdown," Vice President J.D. Vance said Thursday. "What we'd like to do is for the Democrats to open up the government of course, then we can fund SNAP and we can also do a lot of other good things for the American people.
"But in the midst of a shutdown we can't have a federal court telling the president how he has to triage the situation."
Democrats and Republicans blame each other for the government shutdown, with Democrats refusing to vote on a budget bill without an extension of subsidies under the Affordable Care Act to keep health care premiums down. But Republicans refuse to budge on the matter, saying the health care issue can be debated later since the health care subsidies are in place until the end of the year.
"I'm proud to see courts agree that the Trump Administration has a legal responsibility to support the SNAP program," Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. "The USDA needs to release all available funding for this critical program immediately. We're not going to sit idly by while families go hungry. It's cruel, it's immoral, and it's beneath us as a nation."
Due to the shutdown, the nearly 400,000 San Diegans who receive CalFresh benefits saw a delay in payouts that may compound if the shutdown continues into later this month or December. More than 395,000 people in nearly 240,000 households receive CalFresh benefits in San Diego County, based on income.
The shutdown began Oct. 1 and means a delay in November benefits for about 42 million Americans, including 5.5 million in California. More than 63% of California's SNAP participants are children or elderly. Additionally, federal employees, such as air traffic controllers, are not being paid.
State Attorney General Rob Bonta praised the rulings last week, saying they affirmed the federal government's obligation to continue supporting families who rely on food assistance.
"Today, not one, but two federal district courts determined that the Trump Administration acted unlawfully when it chose to suspend SNAP benefits for the month of November," Bonta said in a statement.
"The Trump Administration knows that it has a legal duty to fund SNAP benefits, even during the current government shutdown. In fact, just last month, the USDA admitted as much in a document that it later deleted from its website. SNAP benefits provide an essential hunger safety net to an average of 5.5 million Californians each month. Simply put, the stakes could not be higher. The Trump Administration must move expeditiously to fund November SNAP benefits."
The court orders issued by judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island left unclear how exactly the relief should be provided, or when it will arrive for families set to lose benefits starting Saturday.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, SNAP has a contingency fund of about $6 billion, more than $5 billion of which should be available for use toward SNAP benefits, covering a large portion of the roughly $8 billion due in November.
The USDA head can also move funds among different nutrition programs, which it did in October, transferring $300 million in tariff revenue to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (also known as WIC).
Californians can still use CalFresh benefits left over from previous months. CalFresh beneficiaries can check their balance by calling the number on the back of the EBT card.
Local food resources and information are available through the 211 San Diego web page or by calling 211 San Diego. Additionally, a list of food resources such as food banks and pantries can be accessed at feedingsandiego.org/find-food/.
As a result of the shutdown, local nonprofits and food banks expect to shoulder much of the burden. The San Diego Food Bank said it expects additional costs of $500,000.
Anyone can volunteer (ages 16+ may volunteer independently; ages 11-15 may volunteer with an adult) by going to feedingsandiego.org/get-involved/volunteer or sandiegofoodbank.org/volunteer. People must register in advance and wear closed-toed shoes.
People can visit SanDiegoFoodBank.org for assistance and resources, or to make to a donation.
Additionally, Jewish Family Service has resources for federal employees, available at jfssd.org/government-shutdown/.
