Thousands of Stanislaus County families are set to lose access to food benefits starting November 1, as the ongoing federal government shutdown halts CalFresh funding. CalFresh, a state program funded by the federal government, supports about 17% of county residents.
The Stanislaus County Community Services Agency (CSA) was notified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on October 10 that Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards would not be reloaded for November. CSA Director Christine Huber explained that if the shutdown was not resolved by October 23—the day when California uploads benefit information—there would be no way to avoid delays in distributing benefits.
“In California, it’s almost a billion dollars a month that is issued in CalFresh benefits, and there is not a mechanism or a way for the state to cover those costs,” Huber said.
Ed Cuellar, associate director of CalWorks at CSA, noted this situation is unprecedented compared to previous shutdowns. “I recall it never got to the point we’re at today, where we are actually provided guidance from the federal government that appropriations are not going to be available to issue benefits.”
The current federal shutdown began on October 1. Nearly one month later, Congress has yet to reach an agreement on the budget. During the last major shutdown in late 2018 and early 2019—which lasted 35 days—California found ways to minimize disruptions and continued providing benefits.
This time, however, recipients have been notified via text message from the California Department of Social Services that their usual benefit deposits will not occur. “We’ve started to receive some calls asking that particular question, ‘What does this mean?’” Cuellar said.
Huber encouraged affected individuals to seek help from local religious groups and charities or call 211—a service run through United Way—to find food pantries. The county maintains an updated list of food resources at www.schsa.org.
Britni Lloyd manages MoPride’s food pantry and described its open-door policy: “It’s no boundaries, so you don’t have to provide an ID or proof of income,” she said. “You can just come and get what you need.” She expressed concern about increased demand straining already limited supplies: “Our current food bank system is not up to the standards that we hope it would be in our community, so now this is just going to cause a lot more issues.”
Lloyd aims to increase donations ahead of anticipated higher need: “The most important thing is that people who can help, help at this time, with things that they would like to eat,” she said.
Existing balances on EBT cards will remain accessible and customer service operations at CSA will continue unchanged during the shutdown. However, no new funds will be added until federal funding resumes; retroactive payments are expected once operations restart.
Kim Brown and Karen Johnson operate Salida Food Bank through Neighborhood Church. The facility serves about 75-80 families each week with donated goods from sources such as The Salvation Army and Second Harvest of the Greater Valley. Johnson highlighted local need: “This is a humble area, so there’s a lot of people that are needy that reach us by foot.” Brown added they plan to serve as many as possible despite uncertain demand: “If we increase because people have needs, we’ll provide for as many people as we can for as long as we can. We’re just here to serve, regardless of what’s going on in the community.”
Lilia Lomeli-Gil co-founded Grayson United Community Foundation and learned only recently about potential cuts in EBT support. Her center relies on donations from The Salvation Army but has seen supplies dwindle without explanation in recent months; lunches provided three times weekly accommodate only thirty people per day.
“We’re supposed to live in the richest country in the world and now we’re seeing all this madness and chaos,” Lomeli-Gil said. “Whoever is governing should always be thinking about its people. The need is great, where is the empathy?”
