Students ‘panicking’ about looming SNAP delays

This article first appeared in EdSource.

Every morning, Arely Solis packs healthy lunches and snacks to fuel her as a full-time student at East Los Angeles College. Thanks to federal food assistance, she says she can focus on her studies rather than on where her next meal is coming from.

That will change on Saturday, Nov. 1, when the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the federal program that helps feed low-income families, will be delayed indefinitely for the first time in its history.

EBT cards with a remaining balance should continue to work.

The California Department of Social Services is continuing to update its website with timely information about how the shutdown is affecting benefits to Californians. 

California’s Women, Infants and Children, or WIC, program is operated separately and continues to offer benefits through the federal shutdown.

In the meantime, the delay – with no certainty about how long it may last – has been stressful for Solis and her family. She lives at home with her parents and four siblings, who all work and contribute to the household, but she said it’s hard to cover rising food costs without those monthly benefits. 

“I’m worried that I won’t have enough to support my family,” the 19-year-old said.

The federal nutrition program serves Californians of all ages, but there is special concern about how delays in this program will affect students’ ability to receive an education. 

“When children go hungry, they struggle in school, they experience fatigue, depression, exhibit behavioral problems,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

Educators at both K-12 schools and colleges are already hearing from anxious students and their families. Staff are building up their own stores of food, grocery cards, and other donations or connecting them with local food banks.

“What we hear is that food banks are bracing for an onslaught,” said Kelly Hardy, senior managing director of health at Children Now, an advocacy group. “Schools are worried that kids are not going to go to school well-nourished.” 

Roughly 5.5 million Californians, nearly 2 million of them children, rely on $1.1 billion in monthly SNAP benefits, known as CalFresh. Recipients use EBT cards that are reloaded every month of eligibility to help pay for food at grocery stores and farmers markets.

CalFresh is the biggest government food program in the state, making it the cornerstone of hunger prevention for Californians, according to Hardy. Every K-12 student is also offered breakfast and lunch through the Universal Meals Program in California, but that doesn’t cover dinner or weekend meals. 

Laurie Tristan, a middle school counselor in the Santa Ana Unified School District, has seen this firsthand. A hungry student may be referred to her because teachers notice that they are acting out or missing school.

“Sometimes people think it’s a family issue, and it doesn’t spill into school,” Tristan said. “It does spill into the classroom, it affects the whole child.”

Colleges create emergency plans

College students, who often support themselves and other family members with little income, are very concerned about their food benefits being delayed on Nov. 1.

“They’re panicking about where they’re going to get their food,” said Leah Slem, director of the Basic Needs Project at Chico State.

Slem recently spoke with a student parent who receives $800 each month for herself and her three children.

“She just doesn’t know how she’s going to feed her kids for the next month,” Slem said, adding that the department is trying to help. A campuswide email on Wednesday informed students about emergency resources for those whose benefits are delayed.

The Chico State plan includes allowing students with an EBT card to get a free meal in the dining hall next week. Students who rely on CalFresh can apply for emergency financial aid. Also, the Basic Needs Hungry Wildcat Food Pantry, which is open to all staff and students, is ordering extra food to accommodate the greater need, but is also warning of shortages.

Chico State is also planning on calling for donations from the broader community. But community members are already stepping up, Slem said. A local gymnastics company sent over two vans full of food when they heard the news that students’ food benefits would be delayed.

Danielle Muñoz-Channel, director of Basic Needs at Long Beach State, worries students may be forced to choose between food or paying for gas to go to class during a time they’re studying for midterms and completing capstone projects. These are the future teachers, nurses and environmental scientists of tomorrow, she said.

“I’m very concerned about the ability to produce a healthy workforce,” she said.

The University of California is anticipating that approximately 58,000 UC students will be affected by the delay in CalFresh benefits. It is urging its campuses to deploy emergency resources such as food pantries, grocery gift cards, emergency grants, and expanded meal support. 

“UC urges the administration and Congress to take the necessary steps to reopen the federal government and complete critical fiscal year 2026 appropriations negotiations, ensuring that the SNAP program is fully funded,” according to a statement from Omar Rodriguez, UC spokesperson.

Thanks to a unique partnership with Los Angeles County, Compton College knows that exactly 307 students are enrolled in CalFresh. Every week in November, these students will be eligible for five on-campus meals and $20 in Farmers’ Market vouchers. President Keith Curry said this precise data will allow them to target exactly who needs support next month — or to nimbly respond to any crisis in the future.

“It’s not just a one-off for me,” Curry said.

‘We could handle about two weeks’

It’s uncertain how long the delay in benefits will last.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has called the delay a “manufactured crisis.” He vowed to “fast-track” $80 million to a network of food banks and pantries throughout the state during a press conference on Tuesday. He also announced that the California National Guard is being tapped for a humanitarian mission to support food banks during the shutdown, which happened in Los Angeles this past weekend.

But food banks are not meant to be a substitute for federal funding, said Muñoz-Channel of Long Beach State.

Long Beach State has contingency plans that include passing out grocery cards, partnering with food banks and holding meal drives in person and online through Amazon Wish Lists. But even with all these preparations, the university doesn’t expect this to work long-term.

“I think we could handle about two weeks,” she said.

If this delay looks like it will drag on, schools will likely mobilize the way they did during the pandemic, said Hardy, with Children Now.

“My sense is folks hope that this is short term,” she said. 

During the pandemic, schools became a major site for meal distribution. An increasing number of K-12 schools have pantries available for families. But right now, many schools are connecting families to local food banks and pantries.

The San Diego County Office of Education said it is currently working with the county Health and Human Services Agency to develop a strategy for activating schools as sites for food distribution.

“We know our young people will struggle to learn in schools if they’re hungry and worried,” said Gloria E. Ciriza, San Diego County superintendent of schools, in a statement. “That’s why we will be advocating for policy changes to expand flexibility for schools to meet this critical need.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says “the well has run dry” for SNAP funds because of the ongoing government shutdown, which began Oct. 1. California has joined 20 other states in a lawsuit, alleging the USDA is illegally withholding contingency funds.

The California Association of Food Banks offers information about food banks in every county across the state.

Californians can also call 2-1-1 if they need help getting connected to food and local community services.

Though SNAP benefits, known in California as CalFresh, will be delayed for November, officials encourage new applicants to continue to apply for benefits at www.benefitscal.com or by phone at (877) 847-3663. 

EdSource is California’s largest independent newsroom focused on Education.