The federal government shutdown has officially ended. Paychecks are restarting, and benefits are finally starting to come through again. But for tens of thousands of San Diego County families, the worry hasn’t gone away. Many are still catching up on missed payments and weeks of delayed income and uncertainty that threw household budgets into chaos.
If there is one lesson we should carry forward, it is this: San Diego’s public-nonprofit partnerships are our lifelines. They are not optional supports. They are how we take care of one another.
During the shutdown, the calls coming into 211 San Diego nearly tripled, online applications for Food Bank ID cards surged tenfold and senior food program enrollments more than doubled in a single week. These numbers weren’t abstract. They represented real people in very real stress. And the moment they reached out, San Diego answered.
City and county teams coordinated closely with the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank. Volunteers gave their time. Donors stepped up in ways big and small.
This is who we are as a region. Not because someone told us to respond, but because we refuse to leave people behind.
It’s important to celebrate that, but it’s equally important to be honest: We were able to mobilize quickly because these partnerships were already strong. They didn’t need to be built during the crisis — they only needed to be activated.
And yet we cannot overlook the truth that the shutdown also exposed. Our safety net is resilient, but it is not inexhaustible. The San Diego Food Bank stretched its resources to meet the surge in need — all while dealing with reduced federal funding and preparing to respond to eligibility changes for SNAP beneficiaries, potentially affecting nearly a quarter of all San Diego County SNAP recipients. Families still healing from this disruption are vulnerable and facing another cliff ahead.
That’s why San Diego must keep strengthening the relationships and systems that carried us through this moment. Our partnerships aren’t something we turn to only in emergencies. They are the steady, often unseen, network that keeps families supported year-round.
When local agencies and nonprofits stay connected — listening to one another, planning ahead and sharing information as needs arise — support can move quickly and compassionately. That kind of steady collaboration, built long before this moment, helped ensure families had somewhere to turn when the shutdown hit.
It also means keeping the people most affected at the center of every decision. Older adults, military households, people with disabilities and families living paycheck-to-paycheck often feel the impacts of federal disruptions first and longest. A strong public-nonprofit network reaches them where they are, with outreach that reflects their needs, with distribution sites they can access, and with programs that honor dignity and choice. When we design systems around the lived experience of real families, our safety net not only becomes stronger but more human.
San Diego leads the nation in modeling this approach. We know how to respond in emergencies and have proven it through wildfires, floods, the pandemic and now the longest federal government shutdown in history. But leadership isn’t just about crisis response. It’s about building the partnerships, systems and trust that ensure help is already in motion before the need even spikes.
To everyone who stepped forward during the shutdown — volunteers, neighbors, community organizers and philanthropic partners who made additional support possible — thank you. Your generosity didn’t just fill shelves. It offered stability and reassurance during an uncertain time.
And to anyone still finding their way through the aftershocks — please reach out. Help is available. Visit SanDiegoFoodBank.org to find resources or get involved.
The shutdown may be over, but the work of caring for our community never is. San Diego has shown, once again, that our greatest strength is our humanity — and the way we show up for each other when it matters most.
Castillo is president and CEO of Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank. Gloria is mayor of San Diego.