Millions of California families will soon feel the impact of not having their SNAP benefits.
Up to 42 million Americans rely on the supplemental nutritional assistance program, and about 5.5 million in California. The Department of Agriculture says the benefits won’t be issued come Saturday.
Friday, two federal judges ordered the Trump administration to continue to pay for SNAP. One of the judges said the Department of Agriculture must fund SNAP using money in a contingency fund.
In his oral ruling U.S. District Judge John McConnell said, “There is no doubt, and it is beyond argument that irreparable harm will begin to occur if it hasn’t already occurred in the terror, it has caused some people about the availability of funding for food for their family.”
Trump says the two judges’ rulings are conflicting.
He posted on Truth Social that he has instructed their lawyers to ask the court to clarify how they can “legally fund snap as soon as possible.” And that even if they get immediate guidance, it will be “delayed while states get the money out.”
Professor of Constitutional Law Margaret Russell says this is a process that could take some time.
“They know they can ask for clarification, move for a stay of the trial court judge’s ruling pending appeal,” Russell said. “The difference in this case is that as of tomorrow, when the SNAP benefits run out, any delay, even a day, will affect the one in eight Americans.”
And even contingency funds might not be enough.
“It could not be enough, because it is a limited amount of contingency funds and we don’t know when the government shutdown will end,” Russell said.
Meantime, people aren’t waiting to see what happens. Food banks around the Bay Area are staffing up and stocking up.
“We can’t wait, things change so, so quickly, that we just need to be ready to go,” said Jessica Harders, vice president of Advancement at Samaritan House. “We have also been staffing up, we have two new folks who are going to start in our kitchen on Monday.”
At Samaritan House, they’ve already started to help more families this week.
“This past week we saw 50 brand new families sign up with us. We’re also seeing more cars come thru, our drive thru pantry, we’re seeing longer lines,” Harders said.
While a deal still cannot be reached in Washington, it is food banks and local businesses that are helping their communities – as the holidays inch closer.
Source: NBC Bay Area
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