Days before 175,000 Alameda County residents are set to lose federal food assistance, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved $10 million to local food banks and food assistance programs on Tuesday.

With no end in sight to the federal government shutdown that has precipitated what food bank leaders called an “emergency” at Tuesday’s meeting — Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits running out on Nov. 1, while federal employees remain furloughed — the county’s funding is considered critical for food assistance organizations

“The outlook is unpleasant right now. It is going to be a challenge that we’re getting through, but I would also add that this is what food banks are built for,” said Michael Altfest, communications director for Alameda County Community Food Bank. “What it’s going to require is support. So the fact that the county is recognizing this and really believes food is a basic human right shows they’re doing what they can.”

The Board of Supervisors approved $8.3 million in Measure W funds for Alameda County Community Food Bank and $1.7 million for Meals on Wheels and their partners, in addition to $500,000 to support services for the disabled community and $450,000 for staffing at Immigration and Refugee Services. Measure W was initially passed by voters in 2020 to fund homelessness and housing, but the Board of Supervisors voted this year to use a portion of fund to combat federal cuts to services. In total, the county has appropriated $16.5 million for food assistance this year.

Food assistance programs have faced increased demand in recent years, Altfest said. Approximately one in four Alameda County residents face food insecurity, according to the Alameda County Community Food Bank.

The Republican budget bill HR1 cut $70 million in funding to Alameda County and raised eligibility requirements for SNAP beneficiaries, which is administered in California as CalFresh. Altfest said that Alameda County Community Food Bank estimated the SNAP cuts would result in an additional 13,000 to 19,000 individuals seeking food assistance, on top of the current 60,000 individuals who rely on the food bank daily. The situation became more dire last week as the Department of Agriculture posted a notice stating the agency would not extend SNAP benefits on Nov. 1, blaming Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown.

Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Foruntato Bas said the county was “meeting the moment” as the Trump administration cuts programs aimed at the county’s most vulnerable. She described the Trump administration’s decision to cut to food assistance as unnecessary and cruel.

“Food is a human right, and it’s completely unacceptable for people to go hungry,” Fortunato Bas said. She said the new funding “will help us ramp up and purchase more food and get it out to people.”

Kim Olson, the director of advocacy for SOS Meals on Wheels in Alameda County, said the end to SNAP benefits is a unique challenge for the group’s elderly clients who may not be able to wait in line at food banks and require daily meal deliveries. The average age of Meals on Wheels clients is 76 years old, she said, and many are at-risk of not meeting their caloric and protein requirements without food delivery.

“Our folks can’t go to a traditional food pantry. A lot of them, even if they could get food, wouldn’t be able to cook food at home for themselves,” said Kim Olson, the director of advocacy for SOS Meals on Wheels. “Our clients rely on SNAP and MediCal, so our meals to them are going to be that much more crucial.”

The county’s $10 million influx has helped relieve some of the fear for food-insecure clients, Olson said, particularly among the county’s elderly.

Altfest remains optimistic that rising food insecurity in Alameda County could turn around swiftly, noting that the Senate could decide to reopen the government any day by passing a government spending bill that would restart SNAP benefits. Still, he said the food bank’s perseverance through past crises had readied it for the current emergency.

“The fact that we did go through the shutdown in 2018 actually helped with our COVID response in 2020. The fact that we’ve done the COVID response in 2020 helped us for what we’re going through now,” Altfest said. “It is not going to be an easy time, but I am also hopeful, being in a food bank like this, and seeing what we’re prepared for, that we can get our community through this.”