Merced County outlines food and transit support for CalFresh recipients as shutdown disrupts benefits
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Summary
Merced County officials told the Los Banos City Council on Nov. 5 they27ve opened a Department Operations Center and partnered with the Merced County Food Bank, churches and transit providers to mitigate disruptions to CalFresh benefits caused by the federal government shutdown.
Merced County officials on Nov. 5 told the Los Banos City Council the county has mobilized multiple agencies and nonprofit partners to respond to the federal government shutdown27s disruption of CalFresh (SNAP) benefits.
Scott Silvery, Merced County Supervisor (District 5), said the county opened a Department Operations Center to coordinate outreach and mitigation, and commended staff for rapidly bringing together the county27s health-and-human-services agency, nonprofit partners and the Merced County Food Bank. "We didn't just sit by and didn't do anything," he told the council.
John Checkley, director of the Merced County Human Services Agency, presented the county27s operational numbers and mitigation plan. Checkley said roughly 32,000 households in Merced County receive CalFresh benefits—about 67,000 people total, including about 26,000 children and more than 9,500 people age 60 or older. He said the county distributes roughly $11.7 million in CalFresh benefits monthly (about $316 per household).
The county reported 10,000 CalFresh recipients in Los Banos. Checkley said the Merced County Food Bank runs 40-plus pantries and serves roughly 42,000 households monthly; the county worked with churches, schools and nonprofit partners to add donation drop-off sites at fire stations and coordinate food drives. County staff also established an online resource page (www.countyofmerced.com/foodresources) and encouraged donations, noting the food bank can acquire food for roughly $0.24 per pound.
County staff arranged temporary measures to help with transportation to food sites: Merced County Association of Governments (MCAG) agreed to provide free bus rides through at least Nov. 13 while the county seeks longer authorization. County officials also emphasized that even if a court orders release of some federal funds, it could be weeks before benefits reach recipients, and warned that other federally funded programs (CalWORKs, foster care, in-home supportive services) could be affected if the shutdown continues.
Supervisor Silvera and Checkley urged residents who can donate money to prefer cash (which gives food banks flexibility) while calling for public patience and continued outreach. They thanked Los Banos and local partners, saying the county27s multi-pronged approach has kept public lobby traffic manageable while increasing food pantry usage.
