"Toward the end of the month, Lawrence Jeffries usually has about $200 left. The former auto painter lives in subsidized housing in Oakland and, like 179,000 other people in Alameda County, he receives government food assistance payments monthly. With those basic needs covered, he can squeeze by on the little cash he ends up with. But November will likely be different."
"Local food banks and pantries have been fielding panicked calls and long lines both in anticipation of the squeeze and as residents are already dealing with furloughs triggered by the federal shutdown and rising grocery costs. The intensity of the moment is catching up to us, said Andrew Crispin, executive director of the Berkeley Food Network. His organization redistributes food it receives from the county food bank and elsewhere to some 30 different programs, and runs its own large pantry on 9th Street in Berkeley."
The federal government shutdown has held up Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding, delaying CalFresh disbursements in California. About 5.5 million Californians who normally receive state-provided CalFresh debit card payments could miss the start-of-month benefits. Recipients like Lawrence Jeffries plan to use limited cash reserves for groceries and expect to exhaust funds before month-end. Local food banks and pantries are reporting panicked calls, longer lines and increased demand, with some pantries seeing roughly 30% higher usage. Undocumented immigrants rely on pantries because they are ineligible for SNAP, and furloughs plus rising grocery costs deepen the strain.
Read at www.berkeleyside.org
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