Bay Area food banks in 'crisis mode' despite government shutdown ending

""We are still in crisis mode, and we are prepared to be that way into next year as well," said Caitlin Sly, CEO of the Food Bank Contra Costa and Solano, noting the longest shutdown in United States history and the disruption to SNAP benefits has set families back."

""People do not just recover overnight from an entire week of not being able to put food on the table. Participation has ramped up at all of our distributions and those of our partner agencies, and we remain ready and prepared going into the holiday season.""

""Food banks and food security organizations have really never seen a downturn in the need after COVID," explained Sly. "So, we've been responding at this heightened level of need, and this most recent pause in SNAP benefits as a result of the government shutdown was just one more emergency on top of an already crisis-level situation.""

""It has really become just an incredible destabilization of families," said Alexandria Medina, the CEO of the Oakland Public Education Fund, a nonprofit that helps raise money to support Oakland's public schools. "This is up against the holiday season when food is also much more expensive for students' families because school is not in session for an entire week this month, and it's the Thanksgiving week.""

Bay Area food banks remain in crisis and are prepared to continue operations into next year. The longest federal government shutdown in United States history temporarily paused SNAP benefits and set families back, preventing quick recovery after a week without access to food. Food distribution sites and partner agencies report ramped-up participation. Demand for food assistance has stayed elevated since the pandemic, with no downturn. The recent SNAP pause added another emergency to an existing crisis, intensifying family destabilization during Thanksgiving week when schools are closed and food costs rise. Local nonprofits are collecting donations to provide food or cash assistance to Oakland high school families starting Monday.

Read at ABC7 San Francisco