Feeding San Diego held an emergency food distribution event on Saturday at their headquarters in Sorrento Valley. Nearly 1,000 families were given free produce and other food items. The event fell on the same day that millions of people nationwide stopped receiving SNAP benefits amid the ongoing government shutdown.
According to Feeding San Diego, 400,000 people in San Diego County receive SNAP benefits. Additionally, many of the people who showed up were furloughed federal workers who have gone without pay.
“It’s disheartening. Because we shouldn’t have to be out here, we have jobs,” said Precious Williams, a pharmacy technician for the government. She’s been a federal worker for the last 23 years.
“We got one paycheck, well, half a paycheck I think around the first of this month, and then we haven’t received anything since,” said Williams.
This was Williams’ first time going to a food bank to get help. She acknowledges that there is a stigma of receiving this kind of help, and hopes that people look past that if they’re in dire straits.
“Humble yourself. They’re here to help you, there’s no shame in it. I’m here to put food on my table and I’m not ashamed of doing that,” said Williams.
Saturday was also Carlos Leyva’s first time visiting a food bank. He came with his two-year-old son.
“It got to a point where I was embarrassed for a long time asking for food or something, but it gets to a point where hunger is more than that,” said Leyva.
Feeding San Diego had long prepared for November 1, when funding for CalFresh benefits was set to run out. The organization is used to dealing with food insecurity, but Chief Operating Officer Patty O’Connor describes this situation as a whole other beast.
“We would consider this an emergency situation,” said O’Connor.
Feeding San Diego is nearly entirely funded by monetary and food donations. The organization said that every dollar donated is able to provide meals for two families. Feeding San Diego also welcomes volunteers who would like to sign up for some of the thousands of food distribution events they hold throughout the year.
Dining and Cooking