Sacramento-area food banks welcome Guard, worry as needs rise amid DC shutdown
Local food banks say they support Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order mobilizing California National Guard personnel to aid them during the federal government shutdown but are more concerned whether their stretched resources will meet the growing needs of hungry families and seniors during the fiscal crisis.
“We’re grateful to the governor for saying, ‘If you need it, we’ve got you,’” said Karen Baker, executive director of Yolo Food Bank. “Our hope is that we get the resources we need.”
Newsom in the Wednesday announcement said the Guard and volunteers will support food banks by distributing food in a “humanitarian mission” similar to its deployment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Newsom said he would also direct $80 million to stock food banks and offset funding delays that go into effect with a federal shutdown entering its fourth week.
“I’m expediting state funds for food banks and directing the California National Guard and California Volunteers to help distribute this food to families,” Newsom said in a statement. “As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, California is working to ensure CalFresh recipients don’t go hungry while food prices are spiking under President Trump.”
Food insecurity is also on the rise in Elk Grove, said Elk Grove Food Bank Services executive director Marie Jachino.
Jachino said the Governor’s Office hadn’t contacted Elk Grove Food Bank, but said: “Our numbers are skyrocketing. We would welcome them. As long as it was for humanitarian efforts, we would welcome them.”
If CalFresh benefits come to a halt in November, “we’re going to be inundated with people,” Jachino said. Already, her east Elk Grove facility has seen more than 8,900 since Oct. 1. More than 400 new clients — those who had never before used the food bank or its services — in the last three weeks alone. The numbers of seniors who depend on the food bank is also on the increase as grocery prices rise.
“The need is huge everywhere,” Jachino said.
In Yolo County, Baker is looking at the shutdown and the looming threat to CalFresh, the state program critical to helping low-income Californians stave off food insecurity, with a mix of anxiety and anger. The program relies heavily on federal funds. If the shutdown extends past Friday, CalFresh’s November benefits — about $300 a family, said Baker — could be placed on hold, affecting tens of thousands of Yolo County households.
“Why are we doing this to people who can’t feed themselves? The people who are impacted by CalFresh cuts do not have the resources to purchase food,” Baker said. “You’re talking about taking food from people who are hungry. I don’t understand it.”
Baker said the Yolo Food Bank and its partners across the county serve more than 27,600 household, roughly a third of the 77,000 households that call Yolo County home. The combination of CalFresh dollars and food from Yolo Food Bank, as well as the network of school and faith-based programs that fight hunger in Yolo help thousands of families keep food on the table each month.
Baker said Yolo Food Bank is girding for the short term. What happens in the longer term is the more crucial question.
“We’re going to have to add extra distribution, put out the call to volunteers. We know how to feed people, but if it is more than a couple weeks, it’s going to have a deep impact,” Baker said.
“We need to provide more food at more locations. We have 3,000 volunteers and we’re going to stand up and provide for the food insecure” Baker continued. “We’ve got messages out to volunteers saying, we’ll need you in bigger ways than in the past.”
This story was originally published October 22, 2025 at 3:29 PM.
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