SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — With rising gas prices and inflation straining household budgets, more San Diegans are turning to local food banks for help feeding their families.

During a visit to Feeding San Diego in Sorrento Valley, U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff toured the nonprofit’s operations and met with families relying on food assistance programs.

Among them were Dora Juarez and her husband, Fernando, who drove from San Ysidro to pick up groceries.

“That’s a very long drive,” Juarez said.

The couple, who have been married for 50 years, said they are living on a fixed income and struggling to keep up with rising costs.

“Well right now, the way the economy is, it is really vital for us,” Juarez said. “We really are in need of food because it is so expensive.”

New rules for San Diego County residents receiving CalFresh benefits begin June 1

Schiff said he visited the food bank to better understand how recent cuts to federal nutrition assistance programs are affecting demand for organizations like Feeding San Diego.

“I know that the impact of the president’s big beautiful bill was to massively cut supplemental nutrition assistance, SNAP,” Schiff said. “I wanted to see what that is doing to the demand for organizations like Feeding San Diego. How are they meeting that demand?”

The senator praised volunteers and staff members for helping serve a growing number of food-insecure residents facing inflation and high fuel prices.

“One of the things that kills me right now is that the Pentagon wants $200 million for this Iran war while they’ve cut $187 million out of SNAP,” Schiff said. “Basically, the food that would be going to feed people is instead going to support bombing Iran, and I think that is a terrible cost to the American people.”

Schiff, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said lawmakers are expected to begin negotiations on a major agriculture bill next month.

“I’m certainly going to be fighting in those negotiations for that ag bill to restore some of the SNAP funding, to postpone further cuts to food assistance, so we don’t make this problem worse,” he said.

Juarez said families like hers depend on the assistance provided by organizations such as Feeding San Diego.

“And I’m so thankful they have this,” she said. “I’m really thankful.”

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