On Saturday morning, Genaro Alfonzo pulled up to the Kia Forum in Inglewood wearing his Dodgers hat and jersey, with a flag for his Boys in Blue flapping from a Toyota pickup truck.<\/p>\n
But the morning after his beloved Dodgers won Game 6<\/a> of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, Alfonzo was not happy. It was nearly 11 a.m., and the 70-year-old had not yet eaten. <\/p>\n \u201cJust this,\u201d he said, tearing up as he held up a blue plastic coffee cup, half empty. \u201cI\u2019m not working. My wife\u2019s not working \u2014 there\u2019s no work. The market is expensive.\u201d <\/p>\n Alfonzo was among thousands of people who showed up to a drive-through food distribution event Saturday at the Kia Forum put on by the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank on the first day of a lapse in funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.<\/p>\n It was the first day of the month \u2014 the first day of a pause in federal food assistance for millions of low-income Americans, including 5.5 million Californians, because of the government shutdown that began Oct. 1. <\/p>\n On Friday, two federal judges, in separate rulings<\/a>, ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to begin using more than $5 billion in contingency funds for SNAP during the government shutdown. But they gave the agency until Monday to figure out how to do so.<\/p>\n Although the orders were a win for people who rely on SNAP, they did not mean that recipients would be spared a lapse in food aid. Over the weekend, state and local food banks scrambled to prepare for a deluge of need.<\/p>\n California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta \u2014 whose office helped bring about a lawsuit by a coalition of Democrat-led states against the Trump administration over the food aid cutoff \u2014 said Thursday that a ruling in the states\u2019 favor would not mean SNAP funds would immediately be loaded onto CalFresh and other benefit cards. <\/p>\n \u201cOur best estimates are that [SNAP benefit] cards could be loaded and used in about a week,\u201d he said, adding that \u201cthere could be about a week where people are hungry and need food.\u201d For new program applicants, he said, the delay could be even longer. <\/p>\n On Saturday, amid gray skies and fog, scores of volunteers<\/a> for the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank gathered outside the Forum to serve Angelenos looking to stock their shelves and refrigerators for what could become the longest shutdown since 2018, when the government was shut down for 35 days.<\/p>\n Volunteers disbursed food containers for about 5,000 vehicles, according to the food bank. Each offering had items for about 40 meals, with whole grains, fresh produce, tortillas, canned tuna, yogurt and frozen chicken.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is what large-scale disaster relief looks like,\u201d said Michael Flood, chief executive of the food bank. \u201cIt\u2019s about getting as much as possible out to as many people as possible \u2014 safely and in a short time.\u201d<\/p>\n Fueled by bins of snacks \u2014 chips, oranges and bottled water \u2014 many volunteers expressed enthusiasm for the long day ahead.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just happy to be here \u2014 it\u2019s a great opportunity to help people,\u201d said Jordan Diaz, 35. <\/p>\n Ron Del Rio, 54, said he was happy to help but angry about the circumstances.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s frustrating and heartbreaking to see people who are hungry,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s just so unsettling that it has to be this way. Why are there 5,000 cars coming through here in a country that is so rich?\u201d<\/p>\n About 600,000 SNAP recipients live in Los Angeles, according to Mayor Karen Bass, who said in a statement Friday<\/a> that \u201cno one in Los Angeles should have to worry about putting food on the table because of circumstances beyond their control.\u201d<\/p>\n For volunteer Diane Jackson, 72, loading up cars with boxes of fresh produce hit close to home. Her son had been in line to receive food earlier that morning. <\/p>\n \u201cHe has 7 children!\u201d she said. \u201cHe made sure to come out here. I\u2019m so glad they\u2019re here \u2014 it feels good.\u201d<\/p>\n Volunteers were greeted with fist bumps, air kisses and shouted thank yous. <\/p>\n As she waited in line, Maxx Bush, 79, who lives near the Forum, said she was angry because people\u2019s incomes are not increasing, even as groceries, housing, insurance, medication, gasoline and other necessities are becoming more expensive. <\/p>\n \u201cOur elected officials are letting us down because we vote and put these people in office, and they tend to get a personal vendetta going with each other and forget about the main thing, which is the people.\u201d<\/p>\n In their opposition to states\u2019 request for a temporary restraining order requiring the disbursement of contingency funds, attorneys for the USDA argued that the $5.25 billion is reserved \u201cin the event of natural disasters and other uncontrollable catastrophes\u201d and could cause more disruptions later. The emergency funds will not cover the roughly $9 billion required for all November benefits, according to the USDA. <\/p>\n Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom activated the National Guard to help package food and directed $80 million to food banks<\/a> to stock up. More than 63% of SNAP recipients in California are children or elderly people, Newsom\u2019s office said. <\/p>\n \u201cI have instructed our lawyers to ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible,\u201d President Trump said in a post on Truth Social<\/a> on Friday. \u201cIt is already delayed enough due to the Democrats keeping the Government closed \u2026 it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding.\u201d<\/p>\n On Saturday, Bonta snapped back.<\/p>\n