Title
Resolution approving Budget Amendment No. 26.035 appropriating $85,000 for emergency food assistance for South San Francisco Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients.
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WHEREAS, on October 1, 2025, a federal government shutdown began after congress failed to pass appropriations legislation for the 2026 fiscal year; and
WHEREAS, owing to the shutdown, federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits lapsed on November 1, 2025; and
WHEREAS, federal district court judges have ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) must provide SNAP benefits and use emergency funds to do so; and
WHEREAS, despite these rulings, the USDA intends to provide only partial benefits for November 2025, which may take weeks or months to reach SNAP recipients; and
WHEREAS, on October 29, 2025, City Council met in a Special Meeting and during an agendized discussion of how to spend $25 million the City will receive in sale proceeds from the sale of DNA Way to Genentech, City Council directed staff to immediately implement a program providing assistance to families that would not be receiving SNAP if the government shutdown persisted; and
WHEREAS, Council directed staff to spend up to $170,000 and to work with the YMCA Community Resource Center (YMCA CRC) to distribute the assistance; and
WHEREAS, on October 29, 2025, staff understood the total number of SNAP recipients in South San Francisco to be 1,700 households; and
WHEREAS, staff has since learned from the San Mateo County Human Services Agency that the number of SNAP recipient households in South San Francisco is 2,406; and
WHEREAS, the City has incurred $80,000 in direct expenses purchasing gift cards for distribution to South San Francisco SNAP recipients; and
WHEREAS, the YMCA CRC has requested $4,842 in administrative expenses accounting for the staff time associated with setting up the program, preparing for the distribution events, and staffing the distribution; and
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