With thousands of San Benito County residents set to lose their CalFresh benefits due to a suspension of federal funding, local organizations and service providers are preparing for a surge in the need for food assistance this month.
On Nov. 4, the board of supervisors approved a donation of $100,000 to the Community Food Bank of San Benito, to help offset the loss of federal funds due to the government shutdown. Gov. Gavin Newsom has accelerated the use of $80 million in CalFood funds for food banks throughout the state.
The Community Food Bank of San Benito has requested the $430,000 allocated by the state to the nonprofit, but Executive Director Antonio Mendoza said these are not emergency dollars and were already allocated to the local food bank. Mendoza said the food bank, located at 2233 San Felipe Road, is actively working to find more funds from the community, nonprofit partners and local government jurisdictions.
“We are expecting a surge of customers at the Community Food Bank this month,” Mendoza said. “While the (Trump) administration announced that it would use contingency funds to partially fund SNAP for the month of November, there is no telling when that money will actually reach our neighbors or how much they will receive.
“Additionally, federal employees not receiving pay are coming to food banks during the shutdown.”
SNAP is short for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps. SNAP funds the state’s CalFresh program.
San Benito County currently serves 7,742 people and 3,794 families with CalFresh benefits.
The Community Food Bank serves about 10,000 people per month with groceries and food assistance—including about 1,500 served through partners at schools, community based organizations and churches in San Benito County.
The food bank’s client load has increased in recent years, from about 5,670 people per week in 2023 to about 6,509 weekly last year, Mendoza said.
“More individuals have been signing up for the first time and after a long lapse with us since late October—and the full increase will likely be demonstrated by our monthly service numbers, since for many people they would not yet have received their CalFresh benefits or shopped with them yet this early in the month,” he said.
Donations of money or volunteers “would be most helpful during this crisis,” Mendoza added. With additional funds, the food bank could purchase more food than usual in order to stock up for the influx of customers if the suspension of SNAP benefits continues.
The Community Food Bank of San Benito offers weekly food giveaways at their Hollister facility, which includes a drive-thru 9am-3pm on Thursdays, and 9-11:45am on Fridays and Saturdays.
The nonprofit also offers a mobile food pantry that makes designated weekly stops in neighborhoods throughout the county to bring food to those who might not be able to travel to the food pantry.
Anyone interested in signing up or donating to the Community Food Bank of San Benito can call their office at 831.637.0340, email in**@********************bc.org, or visit in-person at 1133 San Felipe Road, Tuesday through Saturday during business hours.
