San Diego, California – Food banks across San Diego County are bracing for a surge in demand as an estimated 400,000 CalFresh recipients—roughly 240,000 households—are expected to lose access to federal food assistance amid the ongoing government shutdown.
At Jewish Family Service’s Balboa Avenue center in Kearny Mesa, the sense of urgency is visible. On Wednesday afternoon, a line of cars wrapped around the block before the organization’s weekly drive-through food distribution even began. Inside, volunteers and staff packed boxes of canned goods, rice, and fresh produce—preparing for what’s become their fourth straight week of emergency operations.
“We’re preparing this afternoon to be able to serve up to 200 households,” said Tom Stewart, vice president of strategic integration at Jewish Family Service (JFS). “That first week of the drive-through, we had folks who told us they were just glad to hear they weren’t forgotten.”…