\u201cSome of our distributions are seeing twice as many people as they normally do and signing up three times as many new families as they had this time last year,\u201d Second Harvest Food Bank of OC CEO Claudia Bonilla Keller warned Orange County Supervisors Tuesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are on the precipice of something that we don\u2019t know how long it\u2019s going to last.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the same time, Orange County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento raised concerns that many of the people they recently helped out of homelessness could soon be put back on the street amid changes to a federal housing program called Continuum of Care.\u00a0<\/p>\n
County Food Banks Struggle to Keep Up with Demand<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_1270.jpg\")
Volunteers pack food boxes on Nov. 19, 2020 outside Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County in Irvine. Some volunteers are from the Anaheim Ducks organization. Credit: HOSAM ELATTAR, Voice of OC<\/p>\n
Keller said the food banks and pantries are now having to dip into food and funding they had slotted for November and early December to meet today\u2019s demand.<\/p>\n
\u201cShould this crisis be solved in the coming weeks, which I\u2019m praying to God they are, we will be in a hole at that time because we have not received any kind of funding in addition for this emergency,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Food bank and pantry leaders have previously reported that the winter holiday season is their busiest time of the year.<\/p>\n
As of August, over 300,000 people in Orange County \u2013 roughly 10% of the population \u2013 are enrolled in the CalFresh food assistance program, according to the California Department of Social Services<\/a>.<\/p>\n Despite partial food stamp funding expected to resume, it remains unclear when the benefits show up or how much money will come, with Trump announcing on TruthSocial<\/a> Tuesday morning that he would not reopen the full benefits until the end of the government shutdown.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSNAP BENEFITS, which increased by Billions and Billions of Dollars (MANY FOLD!) during Crooked Joe Biden\u2019s disastrous term in office (Due to the fact that they were haphazardly \u201chanded\u201d to anyone for the asking, as opposed to just those in need, which is the purpose of SNAP!), will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, which they can easily do, and not before!\u201d Trump wrote.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Recently, Alameda County<\/a> and Los Angeles County<\/a> Supervisors each allocated $10 million to food assistance with the bulk of the money supporting local food banks there amid the federal government shutdown in the last week.<\/p>\n Sarmiento said the CalOptima board members will consider on Thursday allocating $1 million to Second Harvest Food Bank<\/a> and $1 million to Community Action Partnership of Orange County<\/a> \u2013 which runs the OC Food Bank.<\/p>\n The CalOptima board will also discuss at their 2 p.m. meeting on Thursday<\/a> allocating $5 million to provide $25 flex cards to their members also enrolled in CalFresh \u2013 more commonly known as food stamps.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, supervisors voted unanimously to let Sarmiento send $30,000 of his district discretionary funds to the Friendly Center<\/a> to help feed residents, with Sarmiento noting they should discuss sending more money in the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n Will the Shutdown Impact the Future of Housing?<\/p>\n Sarmiento also brought up concerns about changes to the federal government\u2019s Continuum of Care program, one of the sources of funding for homeless prevention the county draws on.\u00a0<\/p>\n Under a new proposal from the Trump administration, the county\u2019s spending on permanent supportive housing through that program would now be capped at 30%, according to a post from the National Association of Counties<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAs it stands, PSH services represent roughly 87 percent of the (Continuum of Care) program\u2019s spending,\u201d wrote association staff.\u00a0<\/p>\n That means many of the county\u2019s existing housing projects aimed at helping residents who recently got out of homelessness could lose their funding.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe proposed federal change would cap the (Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention Program) funding for permanent housing at 30% which would substantially limit the funding available to help formerly homeless households that remain stably housed at this moment,\u201d Sarmiento said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Right now, that funding has gone to over 1,400 people in Orange County, according to Sarmiento, who noted the program gave out $33 million last year alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe know many of our folks who are going to struggle are veterans,\u201d Sarmiento said, referencing the supervisors\u2019 earlier acknowledgement of the upcoming Veterans Day. \u201cThis reduction poses a serious risk of housing instability for hundreds of Orange County households who have already exited homelessness.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n There are also concerns that many of the programs\u2019 grants could run out in January 2026, and it\u2019s unclear when or if those grants could be extended.\u00a0<\/p>\n A Government Shutdown, An Immigration Crackdown and a Food Cliff<\/p>\n The need for food in Orange County has remained high since the government mandated shutdowns during the pandemic, kept elevated by expensive inflation costs and an abrupt loss of public COVID-19 food assistance benefits \u2013 what food banks leaders call a food cliff.<\/p>\n Amid that elevated need, food banks, pantries and nonprofit leaders are adapting their models to help immigrant families impacted by widespread deportation sweeps.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/OCBoardofSupervisors_May20_2025_Taylor-26.jpg\")
Attendees gather outside the board hearing room during the May 20, 2025 Orange County Board of Supervisors meeting on May 20, 2025. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Church_Foodbank-Leopo-2025-3.jpg\")
United Across Borders Foundation food bank volunteers scoop rice into bags on June 18, 2025 in Santa Ana. The bags of foods will be delivered to families, many who are undocumented. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC<\/p>\n