On Saturday morning, Genaro Alfonzo pulled up to the Kia Forum in Inglewood wearing his Dodgers hat and jersey, with a flag for his Boys in Blue flapping from a Toyota pickup truck.
But the morning after his beloved Dodgers won Game 6 of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, Alfonzo was not happy. It was nearly 11 a.m., and the 70-year-old had not yet eaten.
“Just this,” he said, tearing up as he held up a blue plastic coffee cup, half empty. “I’m not working. My wife’s not working — there’s no work. The market is expensive.”
Alfonzo was among thousands of people who showed up to a drive-through food distribution event Saturday at the Kia Forum put on by the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank on the first day of a lapse in funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
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It was the first day of the month — the first day of a pause in federal food assistance for millions of low-income Americans, including 5.5 million Californians, because of the government shutdown that began Oct. 1.
On Friday, two federal judges, in separate rulings, ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to begin using more than $5 billion in contingency funds for SNAP during the government shutdown. But they gave the agency until Monday to figure out how to do so.
Although the orders were a win for people who rely on SNAP, they did not mean that recipients would be spared a lapse in food aid. Over the weekend, state and local food banks scrambled to prepare for a deluge of need.
People pick up food distributed by Noel Community Organization at the Lily of the Valley Church of God In Christ on Saturday in Long Beach.
(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta — whose office helped bring about a lawsuit by a coalition of Democrat-led states against the Trump administration over the food aid cutoff — said Thursday that a ruling in the states’ favor would not mean SNAP funds would immediately be loaded onto CalFresh and other benefit cards.
“Our best estimates are that [SNAP benefit] cards could be loaded and used in about a week,” he said, adding that “there could be about a week where people are hungry and need food.” For new program applicants, he said, the delay could be even longer.
On Saturday, amid gray skies and fog, scores of volunteers for the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank gathered outside the Forum to serve Angelenos looking to stock their shelves and refrigerators for what could become the longest shutdown since 2018, when the government was shut down for 35 days.
Volunteers disbursed food containers for about 5,000 vehicles, according to the food bank. Each offering had items for about 40 meals, with whole grains, fresh produce, tortillas, canned tuna, yogurt and frozen chicken.
“This is what large-scale disaster relief looks like,” said Michael Flood, chief executive of the food bank. “It’s about getting as much as possible out to as many people as possible — safely and in a short time.”
Fueled by bins of snacks — chips, oranges and bottled water — many volunteers expressed enthusiasm for the long day ahead.
“I’m just happy to be here — it’s a great opportunity to help people,” said Jordan Diaz, 35.
Ron Del Rio, 54, said he was happy to help but angry about the circumstances.
“It’s frustrating and heartbreaking to see people who are hungry,” he said. “It’s just so unsettling that it has to be this way. Why are there 5,000 cars coming through here in a country that is so rich?”
Norma White gives Dario Medina a free haircut as people wait to pick up food distributed by Noel Community Organization at the Lily of the Valley Church of God In Christ on Saturday in Long Beach.
(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
About 600,000 SNAP recipients live in Los Angeles, according to Mayor Karen Bass, who said in a statement Friday that “no one in Los Angeles should have to worry about putting food on the table because of circumstances beyond their control.”
For volunteer Diane Jackson, 72, loading up cars with boxes of fresh produce hit close to home. Her son had been in line to receive food earlier that morning.
“He has 7 children!” she said. “He made sure to come out here. I’m so glad they’re here — it feels good.”
Volunteers were greeted with fist bumps, air kisses and shouted thank yous.
As she waited in line, Maxx Bush, 79, who lives near the Forum, said she was angry because people’s incomes are not increasing, even as groceries, housing, insurance, medication, gasoline and other necessities are becoming more expensive.
“Our elected officials are letting us down because we vote and put these people in office, and they tend to get a personal vendetta going with each other and forget about the main thing, which is the people.”
In their opposition to states’ request for a temporary restraining order requiring the disbursement of contingency funds, attorneys for the USDA argued that the $5.25 billion is reserved “in the event of natural disasters and other uncontrollable catastrophes” and could cause more disruptions later. The emergency funds will not cover the roughly $9 billion required for all November benefits, according to the USDA.
Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom activated the National Guard to help package food and directed $80 million to food banks to stock up. More than 63% of SNAP recipients in California are children or elderly people, Newsom’s office said.
“I have instructed our lawyers to ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible,” President Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Friday. “It is already delayed enough due to the Democrats keeping the Government closed … it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding.”
On Saturday, Bonta snapped back.
“The Trump Admin CHOSE to withhold food assistance from people in need. They CHOSE to let people go hungry and now are only changing their tune thanks to lawsuits,” Bonta said on X. “It should have never gotten this far in the first place.”
Two people leave a food distribution site Saturday in Long Beach.
(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
Around noon on Saturday, the parking lot at the Forum was a cacophony of sound: car engines rumbling, car stereos blasting music, fire engines blaring in the distance, children shrieking, airplanes roaring en route to nearby LAX.
Rayvone Douthard, 51, picked up food in a white Nissan truck with his windows down and stereo blaring a cover by the band Tierra of the 1967 song “Together.” Douthard, a DJ who wore a brightly colored tie-dye T-shirt, said he received federal food aid and was concerned about the delay in funding.
“It’s not right,” he said. “Donald Trump needs to stop what he’s doing. Everyone needs food.”
Then he turned his music up again.
“But I feel positive about this,” he said, gesturing at the bustling parking lot. “Everybody working together. Like the song says!”
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