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Government shutdown won’t halt CalFresh — at least through December
Millions of low-income households will continue receiving welfare benefits through November and December, even if there is a federal government shutdown.
Inequality Insights
A weekly dose of informed analysis, commentary and news items on the persistent issues of poverty and inequality in California

Jacqueline Benitez, a CalFresh recipient, at Ramona Park in Long Beach on Oct. 18, 2023. Photo by Lauren Justice for CalMatters

Dear California Reader,

Millions of low-income households will continue receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits through November and December, even if there is a federal government shutdown, U.S. Department of Agriculture officials said this week. 

More than 2.9 million California households receive federal food assistance through CalFresh, CalMatters’ Justo Robles reports. Twenty percent of Californians are food insecure — meaning they lack reliable access to healthy food.

Jacqueline Benitez is one of them. She earns about $1,300 a month working part-time as a preschool teacher in Los Angeles County. The 22-year-old also is a junior at California State University, Long Beach.

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Monthly rent for her Bellflower apartment recently jumped $200, she said, not leaving much for food. Now more than ever, Benitez said, her $88 monthly CalFresh benefit is essential. Eating properly helps her focus while studying and working with children. 

“With $88 I try to buy things that will last, like rice, pasta, popcorn chicken,” she said. 

“Without CalFresh benefits, I would be eating half a burger and leave the rest of it for tomorrow.” 

In prior threats of federal shutdowns, welfare benefits were guaranteed only through September, the end of the government’s fiscal year. A federal shutdown would risk more than 40 million people’s access to food and nutrition assistance programs nationwide. 

But Benitez and 4.8 million other Californians continued receiving CalFresh in October, thanks to a recent agreement by the USDA and the federal Office of Management and Budget. 

The agreement stemmed from a September class action lawsuit anti-poverty advocates filed in federal court in San Francisco which argued that since the federal government is always a month ahead in appropriating money for welfare payments, it could afford to keep those payments going at least until the end of October. 

“People’s access to food is not a game, but Congress is treating it like it is,” said Monika Lee, a spokesperson for the Western Center on Law and Poverty, one of the groups that filed the suit. “Every month will be a battle unless we can get this litigation to help.” 

President Joe Biden recently signed a compromise bill extending federal spending in general through November 17. As a result, welfare benefits will continue at least through December. 

Meanwhile in Bellflower, Benitez had worried she would be unable to afford three meals a day in November and December. This latest announcement means CalFresh will continue helping her to survive, she said. 

“Now I will be able to celebrate Christmas with my family and make sure I cook a nice meal for them,” said Benitez. 

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California Divide is a statewide media collaboration to raise awareness and engagement about poverty and income inequality through in-depth, local storytelling and community outreach. The project is based at CalMatters in Sacramento with a team of reporters deployed at news organizations throughout California.

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