USC sophomore Huckleberry Young has leftovers stockpiled in his freezer. He has meals prepped throughout October to save money for next month. Young has even cut down his snack consumption considerably.
Like more than 1.5 million other residents of Los Angeles County who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, Young’s federally-funded monthly food stamps have been put at risk by the ongoing shutdown of the federal government. CalFresh — California’s version of SNAP that supports about 5.5 million people — provides up to $298 a month to a food-insecure individual, according to Los Angeles County’s website. More individuals in a household or additional circumstances can increase funding non-linearly.
The United States Department of Agriculture has posted a notice on its website, confirming that no benefits will be issued on Saturday, November 1, while blaming Senate Democrats for extending the shutdown by voting against a federal budget bill. Senate Democrats have voted down the annual federal spending bill 12 times for multiple reasons, including proposed increases to healthcare costs.
The federal government has been shut down — outside of programs deemed essential, not including SNAP — for 27 days at the time of publication, the second-longest in U.S. history.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democrats have blamed President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans for the shutdown and the potential halt in SNAP benefits on October 20. However, a White House spokesperson blamed Newsom and Democrats for the shutdown, saying they “can choose to reopen the government at any point.”
“We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats,” the Department of Agriculture notice read. “They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance.”
While Young has only been receiving CalFresh money for about two months, he described the idea of not getting his food stamps as uncomfortable. Young said his USC meal plan covers roughly one meal per day and his eight-hour-per-week student job would strain his typical food budget.
“I’m not going to die, but it’s not a sustainable practice,” said Young, who is majoring in jazz studies. “Losing CalFresh is definitely going to put a strain on me financially.”
AJ Scheitler, a program director and researcher at UCLA’s Center for Health Policy Research, said college students typically value high-quality food and multiple meals a day less than other things like books, housing and transportation.
“We want healthy, well-nourished students at their best for learning and so the ripple effects of even a one-month stoppage will still be felt months into 2026,” Scheitler said.
Scheitler said an unforeseen potential consequence of benefits not going out is that more individuals will be applying for benefits and re-certifying their eligibility at once when the shutdown is over, which she said could strain an already long process.
“The longer that anybody is on hold, the longer they’re going without good food and that just crumbles into upping their stress,” Scheitler said.
She recommended students use services on campus, like USC’s Trojan Food Pantry, amid uncertainty with SNAP. The food pantry was designed to be a “supplemental food resource” for students experiencing food insecurity rather than a primary food source, according to the Student Basic Needs website.
This year, students can pick up 15 items per visit to the Trojan Food Pantry rather than previous years’ 22 in an effort to “maximize resources and respond to growing food costs,” USC Student Basic Needs previously said in a statement to Annenberg Media.
At the time, multiple students told Annenberg Media that the food pantry was a critical resource for them due to high costs of food in Los Angeles.
Currently enrolled students experiencing food insecurity are eligible to access the Trojan Food Pantry if they lack a dining hall meal plan or have less than 20 meals remaining.
Andriana Yatsyshyn contributed to this report.