The Bakersfield City Council on Nov. 5 approved a motion to appropriate $100,000 from council contingency funds to the Community Action Partnership of Kern (CAPK) to help meet an immediate funding gap tied to the federal government shutdown’s disruption of CalFresh (SNAP) benefits.

Council member Sergio Arias moved to transfer $100,000 after an extended public discussion featuring CAPK leadership. "For every meal that we provide at the food bank, SNAP and CalFresh provides nine," CAPK lead (Mr. Lowry) told the council, describing a surge in need among roughly 110,000 Kern County CalFresh recipients. He said CAPK had staged large distributions at the Kern County Fairgrounds and other locations and served nearly 2,500 families on distribution days.

Lowry said CAPK is using December’s TFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program) commodity shipments early and purchasing additional food to backfill supplies; private and state funds are helping, but emergency purchases are depleting funds set aside for the rest of the fiscal year. He said any city allocation would be used "100% for food cost" and would not be applied to administrative expenses.

Council members from across the dais voiced support for the emergency allocation. Several members noted CAPK’s logistical scale and the number of families potentially affected within Bakersfield; one council member said more than 20,000 CalFresh cases are concentrated in ZIP code 93307. Council member Komen voted no; Council member Weir was absent. The clerk recorded the motion as approved.

CAPK leaders said the funds would be used to purchase staple foods (rice, beans and similar commodities) and support continuing distributions while TFAP and other sources are rebalanced. CAPK directed residents and volunteers to capk.org/shutdown for ways to donate or volunteer.