Santa Clara County is allocating up to $4.5 million to support food aid for about 130,000 residents likely to see their federal food assistance disrupted in November if the federal government shutdown persists, county officials said.
CalFresh, California’s version of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, provides about $25.5 million in food assistance to the county each month, according to a statement from Santa Clara County. CalFresh recipients begin receiving benefits on the first day of the month, but the government closure is expected to drag into another week as lawmakers departed Thursday for a long weekend.
To lessen the burden on cash-strapped residents, the county amended its contract with Second Harvest of Silicon Valley to provide up to $4.5 million to cover increased food assistance costs, though it would only cover a fraction of food aid needed if federal aid stalls through the end of November. Second Harvest is Santa Clara County’s largest emergency food network…