Contra Costa County supervisors have declared a local emergency that allows them to distribute grocery debit cards to 107,000 CalFresh enrollees facing a loss of benefits due to the federal government shutdown.
The board Tuesday unanimously approved allocating up to $21 million from the General Fund to purchase debit cards for distribution to CalFresh November eligible households in the county.
Known federally as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), CalFresh provides critical food assistance to households and county residents. More than half the county’s recipients are children and older adults.
“We recognize the hardship this creates for many in our community,” said board chair Candace Andersen, District 2 supervisor. “The lapse in government funding for SNAP benefits not only impacts vulnerable residents who depend on food assistance but also threatens the stability of local grocers and the capacity of the Contra Costa County Food Collaborative to meet increasing demand.”
Starting the week of Nov. 10, CalFresh participants can pick up debit cards loaded with two weeks of approved benefit amounts at these locations:
- 1305 MacDonald Ave., Richmond
- 151 Linus Pauling Dr., Hercules
- 400 Ellinwood Way, Pleasant Hill
- 4545 Delta Fair Blvd., Antioch