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California Government. Gavin Newsom Said on Wednesday that he would deploy National Guard Troops will support food banks in November, a move that comes in light of anticipated delays in federal food aid amid the government shutdown.
About 40 million low-income people across the United States, including about 5.5 million in California, receive federal food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. But Newsom, a Democrat, warned that families should expect an interruption in those benefits next month.
“It is serious, it is urgent – and immediate action is required,” he said.
It’s a radically different mission from President Donald Trump’s deployment of California National Guard troops to protect federal buildings and immigration agents in Southern California as part of his mass deportation agenda. He visited Chicago, Washington, D.C. And have also deployed or attempted to deploy Guard troops in Portland, oregon,
Newsom, a longtime political rival of Trump, opposed the president’s deployment of troops to Democrat-run cities, saying last month that Trump “cannot trump the power of a state to protect its people.” A federal appeals court heard arguments Wednesday over Trump’s deployment of troops los angelesA lower court judge ruled that the federal government had violated federal law.
Newsom said he is fast-tracking $80 million for food banks in nearly every county in the state.
The governor’s office said he is stepping up its efforts to combat food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Newsom in 2020 ordered the National Guard and volunteers from the state-run program to work with food banks across the state to identify needs. Newsom’s office said troops helped pack and distribute 800 million meals to people. The Governor will share additional details on the new effort as November 1 approaches.
Trump’s big tax cuts and spending cuts law also set new rules for the federal program, also known as SNAP, requiring more people to work to receive food assistance.
The California Immigrant Policy Center is concerned that Newsom’s plan could have unintentional chilling effects because of Trump’s National Guard deployment, said Josh Stehlik, policy director for the advocacy group. But Stehlik was pleased to see the governor say the Guard will not act as law enforcement.
“It makes sense to mobilize the National Guard for the humanitarian purpose of delivering much-needed and critical food assistance to people during the emergency caused by the federal government shutdown,” Stehlik said.
Volunteers will also provide assistance to food banks through a state-run program.
“At this critical time when DC is taking vital resources away from communities, Californians are doing what we always do – which is step up for each other,” said Josh Friday, director of the Governor’s Office of Service and Community Engagement, which oversees the program.