BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — After a federal judge ordered the Trump Administration to reinstate SNAP benefits by Friday. Kern County residents have started to notice and are glad to be able to provide for their families again.
There's finally good news for thousands of families in Kern County who depend on SNAP benefits. After being delayed for a week, the SNAP benefits are being restored for November.
The SNAP, or CalFresh benefits were restored after a federal judge ordered the Trump Administration to do so. This call has helped millions of Americans across the country to be able to feed their families once again in November.
Michael Martin Community Member said "That was one of the hardest things I have experienced this year. I didn't have anything, I have to feed myself and my animals and that was my main support of income. When I noticed the funds were missing I had to resort to recyclables as my name source of income."
According to the USDA, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program also known as SNAP serves an average of 41.7 million people per month. When the benefits were revoked CAPK took the extra step to provide food drives across the county for residents.
Savannah Oates PR & Advocacy Manager for CAPK said "Like anything, when there is a change there is an affect. We saw that all this week. We saw individuals coming into our lines who have never asked for food before. There is over 110,000 households in Kern County that rely on CalFresh Benefits. They were here with us, an accessing food and resources that they normally didn't have to reach out for."
With SNAP. benefits restored, Savannah tells me as of Friday, CAPK will be discounting its EBT distributions for November. Right now however, it's unknown what may happen next month.
"Only in Bakersfield we saw over 8000 individuals come through our line. Roughly around 11,000 in total in just four days. But we are going to keep assessing and watching what the news says and what legislation says. We don't know what December looks like but if that is a need we will reactivate in December." said Oates
The news about the benefits being reinstated left multiple community members elated that they could provide for their families once again.
"Oh man, I was so relieved first thing I was able to do is get some food for myself and then for my dogs." said Martin
While the benefits have been restored for November, it's still uncertain if that will be case in December. It all depends on how long the government shutdown drags on.
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