Supplemental Nutritional Assistant Program benefits are set to run out at the end of the month as the GOP-led government shutdown continues, and states are scrambling to help their most vulnerable.
In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday that he would be deploying the National Guard to assist food banks across the state as the need for assistance grows.
“Trump’s failure isn’t abstract—it’s literally taking food out of people’s mouths. This is serious, this is urgent—and requires immediate action,” he said in a press release, adding that he’s also fast-tracking nearly $80 million in state-support in lieu of the SNAP funding. “Millions of Americans rely on food benefits to feed their families, and while Republicans in Washington drag their feet, California is stepping up once again to fill in the gaps.”
On the ground, the fear of food security for citizens, including military and federal workers, is growing among those who work at local food banks. Yuba-Sutter Food Bank in Northern California made an “urgent call” for help Tuesday asking people in their community to donate or volunteer.
Speaking to Daily Kos, Yuba-Sutter Food Bank Executive Director Maria Ball told us that they are “ramping up” their stock in anticipation of what’s to come, but also to meet the growing need they’re already experiencing.
“Everybody’s already feeling the crunch,” she told us, explaining that they assist a nearby Air Force base in addition to community needs.
Yuba-Sutter typically delivers enough food to the Air Force base to feed 300 families. However, undisclosed Air Force officials at the base expressed to the food bank that they would need more help this time around. Now, Yuba-Sutter Food Bank is sending enough food to feed 400 families.
But as Newsom is doling out support for his constituents, food banks in other states are also not getting any statewide assistance just yet.
In Texas, Galveston County Food Bank is a vital resource to senior citizens and federal workers in their community.
“We’ve been in contact with the Coast Guard and NASA in the event that [food security] becomes an issue,” President & CEO Donnie VanAckeren told Daily Kos. “They want reassurance that they're eligible to come and use our facilities.”
But, like most food banks, VanAckeren said that the need for community assistance is already strong. “The food doesn't sit around long,” he explained. “It comes in and it goes right out. So the need is great.”
The USDA issued a letter to state agencies on Oct. 10 saying that they would not have the funding means to distribute SNAP benefits across the nation come November if the shutdown continues. And furloughed federal workers have already been lining up at food banks asking for a helping hand.
Related | ‘It’s a flat-out lie!’ Elizabeth Warren exposes GOP’s shutdown bullsh-t
This potential lapse in benefits is one clearly identifiable pain from the nearly monthlong government shutdown. While families fear not being able to feed their children, the GOP—who controls all three branches of government—has been blaming the shutdown on Democrats for their insistence on extending the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies.
And though rising costs of health care is a concern even for MAGA Rep.Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, it seems like the right isn’t ready to budge—even if it means not feeding their most vulnerable.
Alix Breeden October 22, 2025 at 11:30PM From Daily Kos
0 Comments