Sacramento, CA – The County Welfare Directors Association (CWDA) of California issued the following statement from Executive Director Carlos Marquez III today on more than two dozen states, including California, filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration for its refusal to use emergency reserves to fund the SNAP program, known in California as CalFresh, beginning November 1: 

“Counties are initiating emergency response protocols, coordinating and matching philanthropic donations to food banks, and authorizing limited county funds where available to provide some modicum of relief to our most vulnerable in the face of federal inaction. These mitigating efforts are forcing counties to redirect resources away from equally vital purposes and still are simply not enough to prevent the emerging hunger crisis that’s unfolding in communities across California.

“We applaud Governor Newsom, Attorney General Bonta, and Secretary Johnson for taking this courageous stand in defense of California’s 5.5 million children, seniors, people with disabilities, veterans, low-income college students, and working families who rely on CalFresh benefits as a lifeline. The CalFresh program is a powerful anti-hunger and anti-poverty program that lifts more than one million Californians out of poverty. The federal government provides 100% of the benefits that CalFresh participants receive to buy food. 

“As county officials who deliver hunger and poverty-preventing CalFresh in local communities, CWDA encourages CalFresh recipients to continue to use any benefits they may still have on their cards from the prior month. Additionally, anyone in the process of signing up for benefits should continue to apply as benefits will be required to be paid back retroactively once the program is funded. If you’re in need of food assistance, please call 211 or visit cafoodbanks.org to find your closest food bank.

“CWDA will continue to work closely with the Newsom Administration and state lawmakers to blunt the impact of these cuts. Access to healthy food is not a privilege but a right and a necessity for all. As we await a favorable court decision in this lawsuit, we stand with all Californians who will be affected by these heinous cuts to this crucial food assistance benefit.”