MADERA COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) — As the government shutdown hits day 36, federal funding for some crucial programs is running dry.
In Fresno County, about 20 percent of households rely on the food assistance program known as SNAP.
Our ABC data team found that Madera County has the highest number of people who depend on those benefits.
In some of the county’s rural foothill communities its close to 50% of the population.
“People are left in limbo and so that’s impacting our families, that’s impacting our local grocers. It has all these undetected consequences for our families and our economy,” says Supervisor Leticia Gonzalez, Madera County Board Chair.
The Coarsegold Market says they’ve seen a huge decline in sales already this month as a large amount of their customers rely on food stamps.
“It’s sad, it’s sad. The whole thing is sad. Too many people, too many things going on,” says Karol, Coarsegold Resident.
County leaders warn we are just weeks away from seeing even greater impacts.
Two federal judges ordered the Trump Administration to tap into emergency funds in the meantime, but officials say that could take months.
Deborah Martinez, the director of the county’s social services, says these are uncharted waters for the system. She is concerned their EBT vendor may face obstacles trying to handle an unprecedented number of files once the government is back open.
“The reality is that it’s not a light switch and you’re not automatically going to get your benefits immediately on your card. There’s a bunch of unknowns. What will the system do?” says Deborah Martinez, Madera County Director of Social Services.
Families on food stamps are finishing off their balance from October, to have nothing added to their card in November.
Martinez explains that increased stress will come mid to late this month.
“It’s going to be after that 10th day of this month of November, people are going to realize 100% of our 33,000 folks that are on Cal Fresh are really officially not going to see their benefits on their card,” says Martinez.
The County receives over $6 million in federal funding for SNAP, an amount Board Chair Leticia Gonzalez says they cannot match.
“It’s impossible. We have a very stretched budget. The majority of our budget goes to public safety. There’s absolutely no way that the county can fill that gap,” says Supervisor Gonzalez.
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