How to resolve AdBlock issue? LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Two federal judges on Friday ruled that billions of dollars meant to fund food benefits during the ongoing government shutdown must be released, decisions that are expected to impact a quarter of Lake County’s residents.
On Tuesday, 25 states — including California — and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration over its withholding of money approved by Congress to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, as the shutdown continues.
In that lawsuit, the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts found the federal government is statutorily mandated to use the $6 billion in SNAP contingency funds, which were previously appropriated by Congress for the U.S. Department of Agriculture through September 2026.
Also on Friday, in a separate case, the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island ruled that the federal government is illegally withholding available funds for SNAP and must make these funds available to all states. That suit was filed by a coalition of local governments, nonprofits, small businesses and other organizations.
Regarding the lawsuit involving California, the Governor’s Office said in its announcement on the ruling that the federal government confirmed that it has $5.25 billion of those contingency funds available as well as $23 billion available in other USDA funds.
The court also ruled that the USDA has discretion to use $23 billion dollars in Section 32 funds for SNAP.
“I'm proud to see courts agree that the Trump administration has a legal responsibility to support the SNAP program,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom. “The USDA needs to release all available funding for this critical program immediately. We’re not going to sit idly by while families go hungry. It’s cruel, it’s immoral and it’s beneath us as a nation. California will keep fighting to make sure people get the food assistance they need and deserve."
Newsom’s office said in the Friday statement that, despite having the authority to release the funds and the “legal duty” to spend all available dollars for SNAP benefits, the Trump administration and the USDA “chose for the first time in America’s history to not extend these benefits for millions of low-income families who depend on this to place food on their tables.”
Millions of dollars in benefits delayed to Lake County
Forty two million Americans rely on SNAP benefits. That includes 5.5 million Californians who have lost access to an estimated $1.1 billion in food assistance, the Governor’s Office said.
The average monthly benefit per person is reported to be about $187.
In Lake County, the Social Services Department said 24% of the population, or 16,320 people, use SNAP to make ends meet, totaling about $2.9 million per month.
The funds to continue the program were set to be cut off on Saturday.
The Governor’s Office said the rulings handed down on Friday don’t make SNAP benefits immediately available, but rather begin the process “of requiring the federal government to direct funds to the program supporting Americans facing food insecurity.”
To make ends meet, the state of California has fast-tracked $80 million in state funds to stabilize food bank food distribution and offset delays in SNAP and CalFresh benefits.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday is scheduled to receive an update from Social Services Director Rachael Dillman Parsons on the delay of SNAP and CalFresh benefits, and discuss how to protect vulnerable community members from the impacts of the benefit delays.
Later in the week, Dillman Parsons is due to meet with local food programs and food banks to discuss the response to the crisis and how those organizations can collaborate to feed Lake County’s residents in need.
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