Gov. Newsom to deploy California National Guard to food banks

Gov. Newsom pledges California National Guard support as Bay Area food banks prepare for surge in need

This comes as the country enters the fourth week of the government shutdown. One of the biggest concerns for local leaders is food insecurity for those families who rely on SNAP benefits to keep food on the table.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - California Governor Gavin Newsom is rolling out a new plan to help keep millions of Californians from going hungry. 

The move includes deploying the California National Guard across the state to support food banks as the government shutdown continues. SNAP benefits, known as CalFresh in California, will be unable to send out food assistance payments as soon as Nov. 1, due to the government stalemate. 

This comes as the country enters the fourth week of the government shutdown. One of the biggest concerns for local leaders is food insecurity for those families who rely on SNAP benefits to keep food on the table.  

Second Harvest of Silicon Valley is a Bay Area food bank that feeds 500,000 people each month. The organization could see as many as 168,000 community members join the already long line for food assistance. 

CalFresh is 100% federally funded, and if those Nov. 1 payments are missed, more than 5.5 million Californians will be impacted, as well as more than 42 million people nationwide. 

The governor’s office made clear those California National Guard members deployed will not be acting as law enforcement. Instead, they will support efforts at local food banks.

Food banks like Second Harvest are grateful for the help, and they are ready to help shoulder the burden left by the shutdown. Additional donations to Second Harvest will help provide food at over 900 locations from Daly City to Gilroy. 

The operation is massive in scope, but it’s built to be sustainable. 

"Most of our produce comes directly from the farmers because of overproduction or ugly,"  Shobana Gubbi, Chief Philanthropy Officer, Second Harvest. 

Governor Newsom is also fast-tracking $80 million dollars of state funds ahead of the shutdown delays, aiming to keep millions of Californians from going hungry.

"For many of them, this may be their very first time going to the food bank and it might be unfamiliar to them. I just wanna get the message out that all our distributions, and we have 900 from Daly City to Gilroy, they are all welcoming, we are here to help,"  Gubbi told KTVU. 

For more information on how you can support Second Harvest, or information on how you can access food through the organization, please visit the website.