Board urges immediate federal action to restore SNAP funds after court rulings
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a letter urging the federal administration to release contingency SNAP funds immediately and in full after federal court rulings found recent suspensions unlawful.
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a board letter on Nov. 4 urging the federal administration to release contingency funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP/CalFresh) immediately and in full.
Chair Tara Lawson Reimer, who introduced the item with Supervisor Paloma Aguirre as a co‑author, said the region is already experiencing acute food strain and that two federal courts have found the suspension of benefits unlawful. “Stop playing politics with hunger, and follow the court orders,” she said. Supervisors described local data showing many households with low remaining balances on EBT cards and warned that any delay would deepen hardship.
Community groups, frontline county workers and nonprofit service providers gave extensive public testimony. Speakers from Feeding San Diego, Father Joe’s Villages, Alliance San Diego, SEIU frontline eligibility workers and others described clients who are seniors, veterans, families with children and people experiencing homelessness who depend on CalFresh. Feeding San Diego highlighted existing food recovery infrastructure and urged immediate, scaled action to distribute food if benefits remain delayed.
Why it matters: CalFresh and SNAP feed hundreds of thousands of San Diegans; local officials said earlier county investments expanded access over the last four years and that abrupt federal action now risks reversing those gains.
Board action: The board directed staff to send an urgent letter pressing federal officials to release SNAP contingency funding immediately to comply with court orders. The motion passed unanimously.
What the county said it won’t do in this action: The board’s action is a request to the federal government and does not itself appropriate county funds to replace SNAP benefits; the letter is part of broader state and regional advocacy.
Provenance: Introduction of the board letter and sponsor remarks are recorded beginning at 02:23:05 (item 11 introduction) and public testimony and vote are recorded through 03:00:00. Evidence: sponsor remarks and clerk vote announcement.
Quote: “Stop playing politics with hunger, and follow the court orders,” Chair Tara Lawson Reimer said during the item’s introduction.