Community leaders urge Solano supervisors to fund emergency food aid as CalFresh benefits are interrupted
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Summary
Speakers at public comment urged the board to create county-level emergency funding and a coordinated response after a partial interruption of federal SNAP/CalFresh benefits. Speakers cited local counts of affected residents, economic impacts and examples of other counties and the state stepping in with support.
Multiple speakers asked Solano County to go beyond public information and establish coordinated emergency food assistance after a partial federal interruption of SNAP (CalFresh) benefits was announced.
Dr. Tanya Lettaju, a Vallejo council member and trustee on the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District board, told the board that "more than 50,000 residents in Solano County depend on these benefits," and that benefit interruptions reduce household food purchasing, harm students, and reduce local business revenue. She presented county-level counts for Vallejo, Fairfield and Vacaville and estimated the program moves roughly $11.1 million monthly into the local economy.
Dr. Lettaju asked the board to consider an emergency food-security fund, a countywide coalition to coordinate food distribution and multilingual outreach so residents who rely on CalFresh know where to get help. She pointed to a state allocation to food banks and nearby counties'9 actions as examples of local governments stepping in. "Food insecurity is not a bipartisan issue," she said.
Other speakers described spikes in food bank demand. County food-distribution partners reported thousands more individuals arriving at distribution sites in the week after the benefit interruption began. Callers and several nonprofit leaders asked the board to coordinate county, city and philanthropic resources and to use staff time to convene a response rather than rely on press notices alone.
The board did not adopt a funding action during the Oct. 28 meeting. Several speakers asked supervisors to consider immediate steps including forming a county coalition, dedicating short-term emergency funds, and ensuring materials and hotlines are translated into the county'9s common languages.
