SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — California Governor Gavin Newsom has taken urgent action to address a looming crisis at food banks caused by the ongoing federal government shutdown.
With 5.5 million Californians relying on public food assistance, including nearly half a million San Diegans who receive CalFresh benefits, the shutdown threatens to delay crucial food aid.
“If President Trump and Congress do not reopen the federal government by tomorrow, or take action to fund benefits, CalFresh benefits will likely be delayed in November,” Governor Newsom stated.
Food banks across California are experiencing unprecedented demand as government employees remain unpaid and federal assistance programs face potential delays.
Governor Newsom has announced the deployment of the California National Guard and volunteers to support food banks in managing the increased need.
Additionally, the governor is fast-tracking up to $80 million in state funds to help alleviate the strain on these essential services.
Casey Castillo, CEO of the San Diego Food Bank, has expressed deep concern over the situation, highlighting the critical role of food banks in supporting vulnerable communities. He explained that if CalFresh benefits are delayed next month, the rise in demand will be “a big burden” on the local food network.
When it comes to the use of National Guard troops for assistance, Castillo said his team is accessing what those resources are.
“We’ve looked at and used the National Guard during the COVID [pandemic] briefly. Fortunately, we had individuals, families and organizations that stepped up in the community. And so, we’re going to be looking at that again,” he explained.
Castillo also pointed to the over 100,000 active duty military and over 50,000 federal workers locally that have already been impacted by the government shutdown. He says the food bank has already responded by opening more than a dozen popup distributions in the last few weeks to support them.
“Now we have the 400,000 CalFresh recipients and on top of that, we are moving into our busiest time of the year during the holidays,” said Castillo. “Numbers were increasing before all of this. We’ll absolutely see more folks — tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands.”
The measures taken by Governor Newsom aim to mitigate the impact of the shutdown on food security for millions of Californians, but the situation remains precarious as federal negotiations continue.
For those willing to lend a helping hand during this time, the San Diego Food Bank is looking for volunteers. More information on how to get involved can be found at sandiegofoodbank.org.
FOX 5/KUSI’s Elizabeth Alvarez contributed to this report.
All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KSWB. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KSWB staff before being published.
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