LA food bank braces for surge as CalFresh benefits set to lapse

As the federal government shutdown stretches into its third week, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank is stocking up to meet a spike in demand for food assistance.

State officials have warned that benefits for CalFresh — California’s version of the federally-funded SNAP program — will likely be disrupted for the month of November if the shutdown lasts through this week. The program provides food assistance for more than 1.5 million people in L.A. County, the majority of whom are children and seniors.

“It’s a type of disaster — one that actually we can kind of see coming at us, unlike the wildfires that occurred earlier in the year and the pandemic,” said Michael Flood, CEO of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, which works with about 600 organizations to distribute food throughout the county.

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Flood said the organization has started purchasing extra food this week in anticipation. Typically, the organization mostly distributes food that is donated from retailers and farmers, but when demand is high — like in times of a natural disaster — the food bank purchases food to supplement, he said.

The organization and its partners have already been stretching resources this year to meet an increased demand after the January fires. Food distribution has been up 24% this year compared to the same time period last year, Flood said.

“Our high cost of living — that's an ongoing issue here throughout the L.A. metro area and Southern California area, so your average agency is already doing a lot more,” he said.

State and local help

Earlier this week, L.A. County officials said they’re looking to provide $10 million to help food pantries — similar to what they did during the pandemic.

Flood said on an average week, the organization distributes 3.3 million pounds of food and other items, like diapers. The extra $10 million from the county will allow them to purchase an additional 6 to 8 million pounds of food, he said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom also pledged to deploy the California National Guard to support food banks, as well as provide up to $80 million in funding — $18.2 million of which would go to the L.A. Regional Food Bank.