Media Contact:
Tish Gallegos, PIO, Employment & Human Services Dept.
[email protected]
(925) 608-4808
For Immediate Release November 5, 2025
County Declares Emergency Over CalFresh Funding Disruption Due to Federal Shutdown
(Martinez, Calif.) – The Board of Supervisors has proclaimed a local emergency due to the federal government shutdown disrupting CalFresh funding which threatens the food security of 107,020 individuals in Contra Costa County. More than half of the County’s CalFresh recipients (58,861) are children and older adults. CalFresh, known federally as the Supplemental Nutrition Food Assistance Program (SNAP), provides critical food assistance to households and County residents.
“We recognize the hardship this creates for many in our community,” said Board Chair Candace Andersen, District 2 Supervisor. “The lapse in government funding for SNAP benefits not only impacts vulnerable residents who depend on food assistance but also threatens the stability of local grocers and the capacity of the Contra Costa County Food Collaborative to meet increasing demand.”
The Board unanimously approved to allocate up to $21,000,000 from the General Fund to purchase debit cards for distribution to CalFresh November eligible households, and authorize the Employment & Human Services Department (EHSD) to 1) execute a contract amendment to purchase and distribute the debit cards so CalFresh-eligible households can purchase food, and 2) activate and deploy its staff as disaster workers to support the distribution at the department’s busiest locations.
Under the plan, CalFresh participants can pick up debit cards loaded with two weeks of approved benefit amounts starting the week of Nov. 10 at these locations:
1305 Macdonald Avenue, Richmond
151 Linus Pauling Drive, Hercules
400 Ellinwood Way, Pleasant Hill
4545 Delta Fair Blvd., Antioch
For anyone who needs to find food resources during the disruption, residents can search by city or zip code to locate food distribution sites on the Food Bank of Contra Costa & Solano’s Find Food in My City page. They can also call (855) 309-FOOD (3663).
Additional Resources include CAfoodbanks.org – California Food Banks’ website; crisis-center.org, Contra Costa Crisis Center (also call 988 or (800) 273-8255; or text “HOPE” to 20121); and the 211 Contra Costa Database – Contra Costa Crisis Center which has a comprehensive database of local health and social services for Contra Costa residents. Community members can also visit ehsd.org for CalFresh updates related to the federal government shutdown.
The debit cards may be loaded with additional amounts depending on when the federal government reaches a funding solution.
For especially vulnerable populations, such as older adults who are homebound and former foster youth participating in the EHSD Independent Living Skills Program (ILSP), EHSD may identify a different distribution process.
EHSD plans to report to the Board of Supervisors within 60 days about the need to continue the local emergency.