Each Thursday, food pantry workers in the city of Bellflower sort through breads, fresh produce and canned goods. Early risers line up with their bags, cardboard boxes and carts outside St. Dominic Savio Catholic Church, ready for distribution at 8 a.m.
For some, that routine became more urgent this week. Five-and-a-half million low-income Californians are enrolled in CalFresh, the state’s version of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. With the federal government shut down and the Trump administration refusing to tap funds to keep food assistance on schedule, refrigerators are emptying, cupboards are running bare and fears are rising.
“Without these food banks providing, I don’t know what we’re going to do,” said Miriam Hernandez, a Paramount resident who rushed to St. Dominic’s after dropping her children at school…