The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors voted Nov. 4 to declare a local emergency and to allocate up to $500,000 to Second Harvest Food Bank to support emergency food procurement and distribution after federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP/CalFresh) benefits lapsed amid a federal funding lapse.

County Executive Officer Nicole Coburn and David Reid, director of the Office of Response, Recovery and Resilience (OR3), briefed the board that SNAP benefits had lapsed beginning Nov. 1 and that the county serves roughly 30,000 to 40,000 CalFresh recipients in a typical month. Second Harvest estimated additional food needs that could exceed $1,000,000 per month to meet the gap created by the lapse for tens of thousands of residents.

"No food bank is designed to be the only purveyor of food support for any community," said Bridal Padilla Chavez, chief executive officer of Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County. "But we're going to do the best we can. The phone calls are heart wrenching."

The board approved a motion to declare the emergency and to authorize contract authority for up to $500,000 to the Second Harvest Food Bank, to be distributed in increments so the food bank can purchase and stage supply in advance of distributions. The county indicated the funding would come from a supplies and services reduction rather than from reserves.

The board also directed staff to publish a county resource page listing food distribution locations, volunteer opportunities, donation instructions, and renter-protection information; staff will notify state and federal delegations of the board action. OR3 will coordinate distribution logistics with the county's Emergency Operations capabilities and partner agencies.

Second Harvest said it will run emergency community distributions, expand partner distributions, and seek bilingual volunteers. The food bank requested that distribution be data-driven; staff said county systems can target outreach to CalFresh recipients and will also use cruiserware/alert systems to notify the general public about the declared emergency and how to help.

The declaration also activates certain local protections (tenant protections and price-gouging authorities) initially for 30 days; the CEO may renew in 30-day increments, and the board can revoke the declaration when conditions change. The board voted unanimously in favor of the motion.

County staff emphasized the action is intended as an emergency response while litigation and federal decisions on SNAP continue; the county will reassess funding needs and additional community contributions as events unfold.