About 112,000 San Francisco residents who are expected to lose their November food stamp benefits due to a suspension by the federal government will get some relief through an $18 million public-private partnership announced by Mayor Daniel Lurie Wednesday.
Next week, the city’s Human Services Agency will mail letters to recipients of CalFresh, California’s version of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, with instructions to access pre-paid gift cards that will cover their full benefits for November, Lurie said.
“Your mayor and your leaders will not let this federal government shutdown prevent you from putting food on the table for your family,” Lurie said at a press conference announcing the initiative on Wednesday.
Half of the initiative’s cost will come from a $400 million reserve that San Francisco lawmakers set up in this year’s budget to help the local government address potential federal and state funding cuts.
Crankstart, the family foundation of venture capitalist Michael Moritz and writer Harriet Heyman, paid for the other half. The cards will be redeemable at citywide grocery stores in partnership with the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank.
SNAP benefits are set to lapse nationwide in November for the first time since the program was created in 1964 as the federal government shutdown enters its fifth week. Millions of Californians are expected to miss out on benefits; already, some restaurants around the Bay Area are offering free or discounted meals to affected families.
Thus far, no end to the shutdown appears to be in sight as Democrats and Republicans remain in a standoff over the 2026 spending plan and discussions over expiring federal health care subsidies.
“While the situation in Washington remains uncertain, here in San Francisco, we are taking care of each other,” Lurie said Wednesday. “This city stands with our workers, our kids and our seniors, and we’ll keep doing what it takes to ensure San Franciscans remain safe and healthy.”
Even as San Francisco aims to close the gap, experts say the SNAP suspension could represent a loss of $20 million a month in benefits, meaning more is needed to help low-income families in the city cope with loss of food benefits while keeping up with the cost of living in the Bay Area.
There is an exponential amount of need at the moment that isn’t being met with the matched resources,” said Pegah Faed, executive director of Safe and Sound.
Faed’s organization supports an alliance of family services groups in San Francisco that announced a fund to help families at risk of losing access to SNAP and the federal supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children, known as WIC. It is considering giving direct cash or vouchers.
Advocates from these organizations hope the fund will draw in more donations the same way they saw people pool resources to help families in need during the pandemic.
Faed said it was too soon to announce an initial amount or a fundraising goal.
“The collective awareness of how important this particular moment and time is to support those who are receiving these benefits is at an all-time high,” Faed said. “Everyone is trying to do their part because no child, no individual should have to go a day without knowing where their next meal is coming from.”
Lurie’s announcement came a day after the Alameda County Board of Supervisors approved giving $10 million to local food banks and food assistance programs to offer some relief to residents who rely on CalFresh.
The indefinite delay to SNAP benefits could result in 13,000 to 19,000 more people seeking food assistance daily from the Alameda County Community Food Bank, on top of the 60,000 who already rely on it, according to its communications director, Michael Altfest.
California is also deploying National Guard units to food banks across the state, where there’s expected to be an influx of clients as more people go without federal support next month.
And on Tuesday, the state joined 21 others in suing the Trump administration, seeking a temporary restraining order to halt the suspension of SNAP benefits.
Lurie said his office would continue to monitor the federal shutdown.
“In my entire career, and now as mayor, it has never been acceptable to throw up our hands and expect kids, parents and seniors to just figure it out,” he said. “And in this city, we will not stand by.”