Gov. Gavin Newsom is planning to deploy the California National Guard to assist local food banks as the federal government shutdown threatens the CalFresh (SNAP) food aid program.
Why it matters: Millions of families in California — and hundreds of thousands in San Diego County — rely on CalFresh to buy groceries, but they likely won’t get money on their benefits cards next month.
- Losing those federally funded payments will make food insecurity even more prevalent, and strain local food banks that are already facing a surge in demand.
Driving the news: The state plans to send National Guard service members and volunteers to assist food banks around the state,…..