Some Sacramento-area food banks aren’t prepared for withholding of SNAP funds

Sacramento-area food banks are coping with an influx of demand after the state issued a warning that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, known as EBT or CalFresh in California, will likely not reload in November.

At the Elk Grove Food Bank, which serves about 8,700 families per month, Executive Director Marie Jachino said the parking lot is full, the shelves of the warehouse are nearly bare and employees don’t have produce to give out. The organization is urgently seeking food and monetary donations.

At a Sacramento Food Bank food distribution Tuesday morning at Arcade Church in North Sacramento, dozens of people, some there for the first time, were still in line to get food as the listed distribution hours wound down.

About 5.5 million people rely on SNAP benefits in California, and the average monthly assistance is $189, according to the state Legislative Analyst’s Office.

The withholding of food assistance is the farthest-reaching impact so far of the federal government shutdown, which is entering its fourth week, as Democrats and Republicans in Congress remain at odds over a continuing resolution.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it would not mobilize $6 billion in contingency funds to re-up SNAP in November. On Tuesday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Gov. Gavin Newsom announced California is joining with 23 other states in suing the federal government to restore funding for the program immediately.

“This is a holiday season. This is when food banks are already busy. This is when there’s already a lot of pressure and anxiety,” Newsom told reporters Tuesday. “This is about cruelty, period. That’s all this is about.”

Food banks’ preparedness varies

On Oct. 22, Newsom announced the state would be taking action: fast-tracking $80 million to food banks, and sending the National Guard and California Volunteers to assist with what’s needed.

But Kevin Buffalino, with the Sacramento Food Bank, said the $80 million that would have been dispersed through the year isn’t enough to meet needs that have been growing since before the shutdown. He said the issue is having enough food to give out now.

“This late in the game, it’s hard to get the volume of food that we need in order to meet this surge in such a short window,” he said.

Jachino said the Elk Grove Food Bank could use parking attendants to help direct traffic in their lot, but there are dwindling supplies for volunteers to sort.

“We’re going to have to purchase some food here really quick, because we’re almost running empty,” she said.

Karen Baker, executive director of the Yolo County Food Bank, said the agency has been preparing for weeks for possible SNAP impacts, and that they have had robust participation from the group’s 3,000 area volunteers.

“When you look at any disaster — which is what this is going to be, if you don’t plan for it — you have to look at, well, what are the numbers telling you, where is the concentration going to be?” said Baker, who used to work for the state’s Office of Emergency Services.

That strategy has helped the food bank create a four-pronged approach: adding six emergency distributions at the start of November, providing more aid at existing distributions, allowing private food closets to purchase more from them and starting a new fundraising campaign where the money will go exclusively to purchasing food.

Baker said the food bank serves 30,000 out of Yolo County’s 77,000 households — mostly families that depend for work on the agricultural industry, plus students and seniors.

Sacramento residents worry about withheld benefits

At a food distribution Tuesday morning at Arcade Church on Marconi Avenue, dozens of people waited in chairs under easy-up canopy tents to fill carts with food to take home

.Jamie Hines, 28, sat on a curb in the shade of the canopy. Hines is a mother of four kids under 9 years old. As a family of six, her household normally gets $981 per month from CalFresh to spend on food, she said.

“I definitely have a fear of losing that, only because how do I feed my kids?” she said. After waiting for about an hour, Hines was able to move through the line, picking up pears, onions, rice, mashed potatoes, tuna, corn, spaghetti sauce and peanut butter.

“My babies don’t care – they’ll eat anything,” she told workers with a laugh.

Beverly Smith is a Sacramento food bank regular. The 77-year-old In Home Supportive Services provider said she uses what she gets to help people in her community who can’t get out to the distributions. Many of her supplies this week will go to her IHSS client, who was notified that her SNAP benefits would be withheld for November.

“It’s under $100,” Smith said. “But it doesn’t matter: it’s what she needs to get by.”

Smith said she understands why Democrats and Republicans are holding out on each other, but the basic needs of the people are paramount.

“This isn’t about the parties,” she said. “You’re talking about the American people — people who voted for all of you. Do your job. Work for the people.”

This story was originally published October 28, 2025 at 4:09 PM.