SNAP benefits latest: Emergency funding uncertain as shutdown continues, what about California?

ALAMEDA, Calif. - More than a month into the government shutdown, millions of Americans are uncertain this week when they will receive their federal food assistance again.

Partial funding of SNAP 

On Monday, the Trump administration said it will partially fund SNAP, though it’s not clear how much beneficiaries will receive, nor how quickly beneficiaries will see value show up on the debit cards they use to buy groceries.

November payments have already been delayed for millions of people.

Exhausting the fund potentially sets the stage for a similar situation in December if the shutdown isn’t resolved by then.

The administration said it would provide details to states on Monday on calculating the per-household partial benefit. The process of loading the SNAP cards, which involves steps by state and federal government agencies and vendors, can take up to two weeks in some states. But the USDA warned in a court filing that it could take weeks or even months for states to make all the system changes to send out reduced benefits. The average monthly benefit is usually about $190 per person.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said at a news conference that it would take his state about a week to load benefit cards once the funding is made available.

"These are folks who are hungry, and every day matters," Bonta said.

The White House officials were responding to two federal judges in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, who ruled separately last week ordering the Trump administration to use emergency funds to continue funding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, during the shutdown. 

What about California? 

 In California, there are 5.5 million people who rely on CalFresh, the equivalent of the federal SNAP program. In the Bay Area, more than half a million people rely on CalFresh.

So, it's been all hands on deck, trying to get food banks prepared for what's expected to be a busy day on Monday, as families who didn't get their benefits on Saturday scramble to put food on the table. 

Hours before it officially opened, there were people lined up outside the Alameda Food Bank in the city of Alameda, waiting for help. 

"Right now, we are mobilizing our network," Regi Young, executive director of the Alameda County Community Food Bank said on Sunday. "We’re purchasing a ton of food to come into the community so we can get it out throughout Alameda County."

Santa Clara County Supervisor Otto Lee said the pain that's being suffered is a regional problem.

"Everybody is suffering," he said. "That’s why it’s so important that all of our different jurisdictions are working together to make sure that our residents are being fed and not being victims of these political games."

How much does it cost? 

Alameda County is leaning on two nonprofits, CrankSart and Steph Curry's Eat, Learn, Play, which donated a total of $1 million to help feed 179,000 people in Alameda County. 

But breaking down that math - it costs an average of $13.05 to feed one person for one day in Alameda County, multiplied by the number of residents on CalFresh - totals $2.3 million a day. 

So that means the donated money will feed Alameda County residents not even one full day. 

In the South Bay, Santa Clara County leaders are getting $4.5 million from Second Harvest to help 133,000 losing out on their benefits. Doing the same math, that would last about two days.

And San Francisco is helping the missing CalFresh benefits by giving 112,000 recipients gift cards. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture planned to freeze payments to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program starting Nov. 1 because the agency said it could no longer keep funding it due to the shutdown. 

Additionally, the USDA has a $5 billion contingency fund for the program, but the Trump administration reversed an earlier plan to use that money to keep SNAP running. Democratic officials argue that the Trump administration could also use a separate fund of about $23 billion.

Here is the latest on the government shutdown and SNAP benefits: 

SNAP emergency funding ruling 

Timeline:

No matter how the funds shuffle through, the benefits for millions of people will be delayed this month because the process of loading cards can take a week or more in many states.

Over the weekend, long lines formed at food pantries across the country as families that are seeing a lapse in benefits are looking to get free meals and groceries. Food pantries are seeing increased demand, with many people arriving early to secure essentials.

Most states have announced more or expedited funding for food banks or novel ways to load at least some benefits onto the SNAP debit cards.

Big picture view:

The program, which costs around $8 billion a month and serves about 1 in 8 Americans, is a major piece of the nation’s social safety net. It would be the first time in the program’s history that payments would be suspended.