The Fresno City Council voted to approve a $250,000 payment to the Central California Food Bank on Thursday, Nov. 6, as a short-term measure to help families who faced delayed or partial Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

Councilmember Nelson Esparza, one of the item sponsors, told the council the allocation is intended to fill a gap while federal processes unfold: “We don’t know timeline wise how fast ‘as soon as possible’ will be, and there are folks who are not going to get their full benefits,” he said, urging support to ensure families do not go hungry this month. The motion carried unanimously on the record.

Natalie Capels, co‑CEO of the Central California Food Bank, described how the funds will be used and how the organization will target distribution. “We have been asking our member partners to detail the number of individuals that they are serving and turning away,” Capels said. “We’re going to take all of that data out of our existing platform and be able to see the trends and increases of neighbors being served or being turned away, and allocate the 85% of the funds allocated in the contract directly out to member partners.”

Capels said the food bank will prioritize lower‑resource partners and areas showing the biggest spikes in need, rather than distributing funds evenly. She said the food bank would not use the city funds for its own programs but would pass them through to the member network that runs local distributions.

Mayor Jerry Dyer, who spoke in support of the allocation, framed the council action as a local safety‑net response to an extraordinary federal interruption. “We may not be in a pandemic, but we have a shortage of funding going to our Central California Food Bank,” the mayor said. He added the city would work with partner agencies and hoped other jurisdictions would do likewise.

The contract identified that most of the funds would be routed quickly to member partners. Councilmember Miguel Arias asked details about how the city will ensure the money reaches people who are not regular users of existing distributions; Capels said the food bank uses a neighbor‑demographic reporting platform to monitor where people are being served and where spikes in demand are occurring.

Council and administration officials said the city could have funds available for distribution quickly and the city controller indicated a check could be issued as soon as the Monday after the council vote.

What passed: A council resolution and contract to provide $250,000 to the Central California Food Bank, with roughly 85% of the funds directed to front‑line distribution partners. Vote on record: unanimous approval at the Nov. 6 meeting.

Why it matters: SNAP interruptions can cause immediate, short‑term hunger for seniors, families with children and other vulnerable groups. The council framed the allocation as a one‑time emergency response to help residents while federal benefit flows are clarified.

Who spoke (partial list): City Manager (administration remarks), Councilmember Nelson Esparza (sponsor), Mayor Jerry Dyer, Natalie Capels (Central California Food Bank co‑CEO).