Overview
- California will deploy National Guard troops and California Volunteers to staff food banks on a humanitarian mission that excludes law-enforcement duties.
- The state is expediting up to $80 million to keep food banks supplied and maintain distribution operations as a temporary backstop.
- An Oct. 10 USDA memo alerted states that it lacks funds to load November SNAP benefits, putting roughly 5.5 million Californians at risk if federal action does not occur by Oct. 23.
- Officials say October benefits were issued, but people who applied between Oct. 16 and Oct. 31 face immediate delays for late-October and November without federal funding.
- Food banks report rising demand as federal workers miss paychecks, including a surge in Alameda County and assistance for TSA staff at Oakland International Airport.