Contra Costa County, California (Crohn’s) – Thousands of families in Contra Costa County are facing food insecurity due to the interruption of SNAP benefits due to the government shutdown.
Local food justice organizations, including the Food Security Collaborative, are stepping up efforts to ensure that no one goes hungry during this crisis.
“We don’t want anyone to go hungry,” said Janet Kennedy, executive director of development and external relations for Loaves and Fishes of Contra Costa.
“We have seen an increase in our inventory between 45-200%,” noted Claudia L. Ramirez, Executive Director of the Contra Costa Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
Contra Costa County’s “Loaves and Fishes” food program, which provides hot meals to those in need, is increasing its efforts as demand has doubled in all dining rooms.
The Food Security Collaborative, along with the county Department of Employment and Human Services, is urging the Board of Supervisors to declare a food access emergency and provide $21 million in direct financial aid to cover the month of November.
The Food Security Collaborative’s Sly emphasized the urgent need for support, noting that many families in Contra Costa County have been affected by the interruption of CalFresh benefits.
The Food Security Cooperative launched a district-wide food drive of non-perishable items to supplement food pantries.
Ramirez explained that St. Vincent de Paul helps with various needs, such as car repair bills, to enable people to afford groceries in the long term.
The Food Security Collaborative was launched two years ago, and many of the partner organizations have been serving the community for decades, some for more than 40 to 60 years.
The Food Security Cooperative’s Berg expressed hope that government officials would move quickly to restore benefits to affected neighbors.
All facts contained in this report were collected by journalists working forCrohn4. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat the broadcast transcript into a news article for our website. This report was edited and verified by KRON4 staff before deployment.