by Lupe Velez
The last three weeks has been a large-scale humanitarian crisis, with hundreds of thousands of low-income Bay Area residents and millions of Americans being locked out from accessing food.
In mid-October, federal officials announced that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits funds would be halted starting November 1 due to the government shutdown, potentially leaving 48 million Americans without access to governmental assistance for groceries. By October 28, over a dozen states had sued the Trump administration for withholding SNAP benefits. By late October, two federal judges in Massachusetts and Rhode Island ruled that the Trump administration must restore SNAP benefits using emergency funds.
The Trump administration asserted that SNAP benefits could not be restored due to the federal government shutdown; the U.S. Department of Agriculture corroborated this claim by stating, “Bottom line, the well has run dry.” But by November 3, the administration conceded to the courts and announced that they would use emergency USDA funds to partially restore SNAP benefits.
Bay Area and San Francisco
More than 644,000 Bay Area residents, and 112,000 people in San Francisco rely on CalFresh, California’s equivalent of SNAP benefits. On October 29 the city of San Francisco announced an $18 million private-partnership to aid cuts to SNAP with the funds coming from the City’s $400 million emergency and Crankstart, a foundation founded by venture capitalist Michael Moritz and his wife, Harriet Heyman.
On November 6, the Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration fully restore SNAP benefits.
As of Friday November 7 demand on Bay Area food banks have increased since the administration delayed benefits during the first week of November, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
This is unprecedented and inconceivable in one of the world’s richest nations. The Trump administration’s callous regard for the American people and human suffering signals our further descent into a fascist regime that has embraced cruelty towards the working class and impoverished people. The future remains uncertain even when the government shutdown comes to an eventual end, Trump’s tax and policy megabill passed earlier in the year made significant changes to the SNAP program, threatening hundreds of thousands of Californians.
San Francisco has managed a temporary fix to cover SNAP benefits to recipients this month, but we look to our city officials to find more permanent solutions and stand up to the Trump administration in its pillaging of social safety nets and social aid. We cannot rely on venture capitalists and billionaires who hoard the wealth to come to our rescue. We have to ensure there are safety nets and protections for families, seniors, disabled people and all San Franciscans.
UPDATE: The San Francisco Human Services Agency has announced that, as of November 10, CalFresh benefits for November have been fully restored. For additional information, go to the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing’s page.
