The U.S. government shut down on Oct. 1, leading to delays in federal benefits, according to the White House website. The affected benefits include Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
The shutdown occurred because Congress could not decide on how to spend government agency funding before the shutdown deadline. Due to the shutdown, benefits are being suspended nationwide for over 5.5 million people, according to a press release from the governor’s website.
In California, TANF is known as CalWORKs and SNAP is known as CalFresh. Both of these programs work to help families in need of assistance. CalWORKs is a California welfare program that provides cash aid and services to family units in need. If the eligibility criteria is met, families are provided both short-term and long-term assistance, according to the California Department of Social Services.
CalFresh is a California program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that provides cash aid to low-income individuals in order to help provide healthy food. Individuals need to meet certain federal-income eligibility criteria in order to access the benefits, according to the CalFresh website.
To combat the adverse effects of the shutdown, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Oct. 22 that he will be deploying the California National Guard and California volunteers in order to support food banks. He will also fast-track over $80 million in state-supported funding, according to the press release from the governor’s website.
“I’m expediting state funds for food banks and directing the California National Guard and California Volunteers to help distribute this food to families,” Newsom said in the press release.
Newsom also added that the National Guard is being deployed as a part of a humanitarian mission and will not be acting in a law enforcement capacity.
The UCI Basic Needs Center provides CalFresh application assistance for students in need — both over Zoom and in-person. If approved for the program, CalFresh provides an EBT card with electronic benefits that can be used at most grocery stores and farmers markets. Students can receive up to $298 a month in EBT benefits, according to the Basic Needs Center website.
While an application for CalFresh can take over 30 days to be processed and approved, the Basic Needs Center does expedited CalFresh events where applicants can apply and interview on the same day, cutting the process to up to a week.
The UCI Basic Needs Center shared a post on Instagram on Oct. 22 informing students that the shutdown will not result in a permanent loss of benefits, and delayed benefits will be issued retroactively once the government reopens.
CalWORKs will currently be funded through November 2025 by using state funds to provide assistance to families. If the shut down continues past November, the CalWORKs program will no longer be provided assistance and funding will be delayed, according to Gov. Newsom’s press release. CalFresh has stopped receiving funding and will continue to be delayed until the government reopens, according to the California Department of Social Services.
Avani Kumar is a News Intern for the fall 2025 quarter. She can be reached at avanik1@uci.edu.