FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — As the government shutdown continues, organizations across California are stepping up to fill the need for food in the Central Valley.

“Under normal circumstances, about 1 in 4 neighbors experience food insecurity in central California,” Co-CEO of the Central California Food Bank (CCFB), Natalie Caples, said.

“In a community that supplies much of the nation’s food supply, it is estimated that 25% of our kids go hungry each and every day,” William Chaltraw with Valley Children’s Healthcare stated.

To combat food insecurity, Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria, the Alliance of California’s Farmers and Ranchers Community Fund, and Valley Children’s Hospital Foundation donated $10,000 to the Central California Food Bank on Monday.

“Every $1 that gets donated, we can turn that into 4 meals,” Caples stated.

An additional gift of $5,000 was also given to non-profit Fresno United, which Soria says has made an impact since the pandemic.

“They’ve been able to serve 1.7 million pounds of food to our local families,” Assemblywoman District 27 (D), Esmeralda Soria said.

These donations come after the U.S. Department of Agriculture posted a notice on its website saying SNAP and CalFresh benefits will not be issued starting November 1.

RELATED: Could halt in SNAP benefits, paychecks pressure lawmakers to strike shutdown deal?

“For our five-county service area, that means over 720,000 individuals, neighbors, families, children are going to be going without the critical support they rely on,” Caples said.

If those benefits are paused next month, those people may need to turn to the food bank to feed their families so these donations come at a crucial time.

“To fill the gap of $138 million in SNAP benefits every single month to our five-county service area is just not possible without the support,” Caples explained.

CCFB is grateful for the community support it has already received, but asks if anyone does have the ability to donate, they can do so on its website.

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