Food Bank Partner Agency - Community Christian Service Agency Shares Impacts of CalFresh Emergency Allotments Ending

The Community Christian Service Agency, a local nonprofit organization and partner of the San Diego Food Bank since 1998, has been experiencing the effects of the end of CalFresh Emergency allotments as more clients turn to the organization for support. Connie, Operations Manager at Community Christian Service Agency, shared that since the end of CalFresh Emergency Allotments in April, her agency has seen an average increase of 50 to 80 new families seeking food assistance each month. Connie explained, “Compared to May 2022 we’ve increased about 200 families.”The Federal Public Health Emergency ended earlier this year, putting an end to CalFresh Emergency Allotments, which reduced local families’ CalFresh benefits by an average of $200 per household and $83 per individual.

CalFresh-eligible households had been receiving CalFresh Emergency Allotments on a monthly basis since March 2020. These Emergency Allotments helped food-insecure families access nutritious food during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. These benefits were crucial to families facing food insecurity after the virus shutdowns and continued to be crucial as inflation rates skyrocketed and the cost of food rose.While the implications of the virus shutdowns may have improved, many families are still struggling from the financial impacts of record-high inflation, now exacerbated by the loss of additional CalFresh allotments.

Today, all CalFresh recipient households have returned to their pre-pandemic benefit levels, which has caused some families to lose up to $258 per month. Several of these families who relied on the additional benefits to purchase food are now turning to food pantries like the Community Christian Service Agency to make up for the loss of income.

The Community Christian Service Agency has been providing emergency services to individuals and families in need in San Diego County for over 50 years. CCSA has grown to include 31 member churches in the Clairemont, Pacific Beach, La Jolla and University City areas. The agency provides food, clothing and other necessities to more than 25,000 service contacts each year. Combined, the two centers serve up to 2,000 people each month with the Pacific Beach Center serving as many as 150 unhoused individuals each week.To learn more about our partner agency, Community Christian Service Agency, visit their website.

To support the San Diego Food Bank and local families experiencing the impacts of the end of CalFresh Emergency Allotments, consider donating to the San Diego Food Bank or hosting a food drive. To learn more, please visit our Food Drive webpage.

Thank you to Connie and the team at Community Christian Service Agency for partnering with the San Diego Food Bank to fight hunger and feed hope in our community.