Thirty-six days into the government shutdown — now the longest in U.S. history — two local businesses are dipping into their own funds to provide free and discounted food to the community for those with a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, card.
Following the government shutdown in October, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors approved $10 million for food security funds, providing support to food banks and electronic benefit transfer, or EBT, distributors. However, many Americans lost SNAP benefits Nov. 1 when federal funding for the program halted.
When SNAP benefits ran out, HP Taco Truck, Monster PHO and Humbowl pulled from their own resources to give back to the community…