Quick Take
Federal food assistance has resumed for thousands of Santa Cruz County residents after a shutdown-related disruption in early November, with local agencies scrambling to fill gaps through pop-up food pantries and expanded food bank operations. But county officials warn that far more disruptive changes are coming next year, as new federal rules will tighten eligibility and shift significant costs onto the state and counties.
Food assistance for thousands of Santa Cruz County residents is back after a disruption in early November caused by the government shutdown. But county public health officials warn that sweeping changes to who receives food aid — and who pays for it — coming next year could have an even greater impact.
“Unfortunately, this was probably a sneak peek into what will likely be a lengthened and painful experience that people are going to feel in the coming months and years around food access,” said Adam Spickler, a senior analyst at the county’s Human Services Department, which manages CalFresh, California’s version of the federal nutrition assistance program.
After the shutdown paused food assistance payments between Nov. 1 and Nov. 3 statewide, community members who receive food benefits at the beginning of each month flooded food banks and pantries because the balances on their EBT cards had dwindled to zero.
But by the week of Nov. 4, the state issued full November benefits to recipients, including those in Santa Cruz County, Spickler said.
“We realized that some recipients probably did receive their benefits later than usual, by a few days, but everyone should have seen their funds on their EBT card by now,” he said on Thursday.
The county partnered with Second Harvest Food Bank to hand out bags of groceries at the county offices. The pop-up food pantry served 186 people in Santa Cruz on Nov. 6, and nearly 400 in Watsonville on Nov. 7. Toward the end of the day, the organization ran out of food, but gave 21 people Safeway gift cards, said Spickler.
Second Harvest also doubled volunteer shifts for packing boxes and added additional pickup sites during the first two weeks of November in response to hundreds of county residents flooding distribution sites seeking food.
The agreement to end the government shutdown that President Donald Trump signed Wednesday included a guarantee to fund food assistance at the current level through September 2026. So, barring another catastrophic event, beneficiaries will continue to receive benefits for at least the next 10 months, said Spickler.
However, the county is bracing for another food crisis on the horizon.
Over the next two years, Trump’s H.R.1, aka “One Big Beautiful Bill,” will fundamentally change who receives food benefits and who pays for them. Some beneficiaries will be required to prove that they’re employed. Most people who receive SNAP benefits are already working, but they haven’t had to turn in paperwork to prove it, said Spickler.
Starting in February, people will have to provide proof of employment from an employer, a training program or other guarantor to continue to receive benefits. The county is already preparing for the onslaught of paperwork, but hasn’t received any guidance from the state or federal level, said Spickler.
“Those are all things that are going to complicate people’s ability to remain eligible, and we haven’t gotten any guidance from the federal government or the state government about what’s going to be required or what types of forms,” he said. “We have no way of telling them how to start verification.”
The county and state will see a significant increase to their share of cost for providing food and nutrition benefits. Historically, the federal government has paid for 50% of the administrative costs of the supplemental nutrition program, and for the full cost of the food benefits issued to recipients. Starting in October next year, the federal government will pay for only 25% of the administrative share, and states and counties will be required to pay the remaining 75%. In October of 2027, a SNAP benefits cost share fee will go into effect through a dramatic and complicated error rate penalty that could have California see upward of a 15% share of cost requirement, which could total nearly $2 billion in state required benefits funding.
It would cost the county about $1.6 million per year to keep the current level of CalFresh services, according to a health and human services department staffer who spoke at a board of supervisors meeting on Sept. 30.
It isn’t clear yet where that money will come from, or if the state might absorb some of that responsibility, said Spickler. “We’re relying first on the state to find out what the state is going to be able to provide to alleviate some of the pressure on the counties, before we even know what the amount is,” he said. “We don’t have all the answers yet.”
The mayhem over the past two weeks is a preview of what’s to come, said Spickler.
While the past month’s SNAP crisis might be resolved, it is a direct result of decisions at the federal level, he said. The county is doing everything it can to minimize the effect on community members. “We want to keep access as best we can,” he said.
FOR THE RECORD: This story has been updated to clarify cost sharing changes for supplemental nutrition assistance programs coming in 2027.
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