With the government shutdown now going into its second month, more of the nation’s programs are being threatened. One of them is the rescindment of the funds for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Impacting Americans nationally, including those in the Inland Empire, local governments, food banks and pantries are trying to continue supporting citizens amidst uncertainty and a shrinking safety net.
SNAP benefits, known as CalFresh in California, refer to funds provided to low-income Americans by the federal government through electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards for the purpose of purchasing fresh, healthy food.
According to the U.S Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service report, SNAP benefits were provided to over 41.7 million Americans monthly in 2024, and CalFresh currently serves 5.5 million Californians, according to the news site California Globe.
The rescinding of funds for SNAP has come around due to Democrats and Republicans continuing to fight over the Republican-proposed federal budget.
Despite the mandate for the Trump Administration to pull emergency funds for SNAP from two judges, as has been done during previous government shutdowns, the administration has continued to display pushback against funding SNAP until Democrats yield and approve the budget.
Until then, it has been unclear whether or not federal funding will be allocated to partially fund SNAP, leaving it up to local governments and, more commonly, to non-governmental organizations to respond to the concerns of citizens and support those dependent on SNAP.
Feeding America is a national organization that works to combat hunger across the country. Their Inland Empire location, called Feeding America Riverside/San Bernardino’s (FARSB), is one local food bank that operates out of a warehouse near Downtown Riverside.
As a food bank, FARSB assembles packaged meals from donated goods and purchased items, which they then distribute to food pantries to give to citizens. FARSB currently provides food for over 250 food pantries across San Bernardino County.
FARSB’s Marketing and Engagement Manager, Rachel Bonilla, expressed that they had already observed an increase in demand for food when the government shutdown began due to federal employees going without payment.
Furthermore, Bonilla described that the demand for their services is only increasing as those CalFresh recipients who have been budgeting, waiting for the government shutdown to end and regain financial stability, are further struggling to stretch funds. The rescinding of SNAP funds amplifies their stress, as she mentions, “Unfortunately, we definitely are seeing a really steep rise in need. A lot of our food pantries are seeing as soon as they get their pantry stocked from the stuff that is here, it’s, you know, gone.”
Financial support from sources outside the federal government, such as California Governor Gavin Newsom’s CalFoods budget allocating $8 million to food banks such as FARSB, has helped keep them temporarily afloat according to Bonilla.
Despite this, whether or not the benefits will be funded at all is unknown as politicians continue to negotiate, FARSB and other food banks are hoping the government shutdown will end sooner than it will take for resources to run out. Bonilla expanded on this by saying, “We’re getting, you know, emails from the government saying oh well it’s going to be half and now we’re not sure … they need to figure out what they’re doing politically to help, you know, reopen the government.”
Along with the efforts of local food banks, the Riverside City Council motioned on Nov. 4 to allocate $100,000 to support. According to the motion’s press release, the 46,649 Riverside citizens who typically depend on SNAP benefits and are now facing food insecurity.
To do this, they are partnering with the Salvation Army’s Emergency Food Access Program and transferring funds from Riverside’s Senior Supplemental Rental Assistance Program.
Bonilla described this through observations she’s made while working for FARSB since the shutdown began. “Now we’re hearing a lot of people that I think are just kind of more desperate because … [they’re] not really sure what to do moving forward.”
Despite the general sense of helplessness citizens are feeling regarding SNAP’s defunding, as described by Bonilla, FARSB and local food pantries are seeking volunteers and both financial and item donations to help meet demand for their services.
Anyone currently affected by cuts to SNAP can utilize the find a pantry feature on FARSB’s website, and University of California, Riverside students can visit the R’Pantry, which has two locations open for walk-ins. One being the HUB 346 location, which is open Mondays and Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the satellite location in the Student Health and Counseling Center 1303, which is open on Mondays and Thursdays from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
