Irvine food bank preparing for SNAP funding lapse with extra deliveries, extended hours
With funding for food stamp benefits expiring on Nov. 1, Irvine's Second Harvest Food Bank spent its Halloween preparing to help the hundreds of thousands of people in Orange County who depend on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
About 42 million Americans rely on the program, with nearly 310,000 living in Orange County. About 66% of the recipients are seniors and children, according to CalFresh, California's version of SNAP. Many could turn to nonprofits for help putting food on the table if federal lawmakers fail to fund the program during the government shutdown.
"We are all bracing," said Claudia Bonilla Keller, CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank. "The two food banks, the pantries that we support, are all bracing for more people to access the charitable food system. There's over 300,000 SNAP beneficiaries in this county. Some are already utilizing the charitable food system. They'll need more food. The folks that aren't will be new clients."
Two federal judges ruled that the Trump administration must tap into contingency funds to pay for SNAP. President Trump responded to the rulings in a post to Truth Social on Friday, writing in part: "I have instructed our lawyers to ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible."
Bonilla Keller believes it's unlikely funding will be resolved by Saturday.
"Anything to shorten the crisis and get SNAP dollars back into the hands of the beneficiaries here in Orange County will help," she said. "The question is, when will that happen? Because it's going to take time to rev the system back up again and get the money to the people that need it."
Bonilla Keller said there is no way that Orange County's nonprofits can make up the SNAP money lost in November, which amounts to $62 million worth of benefits.
"What we are doing is working with our pantry network to send out more food," she said. "To ask some of them to expand their hours. And, we're working with our partners here in Orange County, with social services, with the county, to figure out what we can do while this crisis is still in effect."
