[Update] Mayor Victor Gordo and Councilmember Justin Jones were joined by City and county officials, nonprofit directors, and school district representatives Wednesday morning at Pasadena City Hall to coordinate the city’s response to the federal government shutdown, which has paused CalFresh benefits for November.
Pasadena Public Health Director Manuel Carmona reported that 17,711 Pasadena residents rely on CalFresh, with an average monthly benefit of $280 per person—roughly $3.6 million in local aid now at risk.
“About 30 percent of those residents are seniors and 22 percent are children,” Carmona said. “We’re talking about the most vulnerable members of our community.”
Councilmember Rick Cole also attended the meeting and Councilmember Tyron Hampton phoned in from an airport.
Hampton said he had already contacted several local partners to help expand Pasadena’s food-aid network. Speaking by phone, Hampton told participants he had reached out to Super King Market, which offered to donate produce; to a local nonprofit operating in his district that was “willing to help families in need”; and that he also planned to engage Levy Restaurants and the Pasadena Convention Center’s food-services vendor, both longtime supporters of citywide meal efforts such as Thanksgiving-in-the-Park and Union Station Homeless Services. Hampton stressed that these groups could be key players in an “organized effort” to make sure residents receive the food they need during the CalFresh suspension.
In response to the pending emergency, City leaders said they would seek to expand food distribution capacity. Efforts will also be made to recruit and train volunteers and develop a long-term food security plan.
Councilmember Jones urged that once the shutdown ends, Pasadena must pursue a sustainable citywide food-access strategy to ensure pantries remain stocked and the community is better prepared for future federal disruptions.
Cole said he was concerned about homebound residents that may not be able to get to local food banks.
“If they can’t get there, then we need to also have a resource for helping them. I’m really concerned about reaching the hard to reach, the people that already utilize food banks will keep coming and their friends will come, but it’s the ones who are at the margins that I worry about,” Cole said.
Cole called on City Manager Miguel Márquez to appoint one person to work directly with the 11 food banks in Pasadena to maintain daily coordination.
The federal government shut down on October 1 as a result of congressional failure to pass appropriations legislation for the 2026 fiscal year, which began on Oct. 1.
Many seniors in the City receive Meals on Wheels which is federally funded.
But there appeared to be a sliver of hope.
On Wednesday, Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he would vote in favor of a GOP bill to fund SNAP benefits.
“The goal today is to make sure those who need benefits receive support,” said Jones as he opened the meeting. “If this shutdown goes beyond the next few days, we’re going to have to double down our efforts even more.”
Jones outlined a three-phase local response plan to address the pause in benefits.
The plan includes an immediate response in the first seven days that mobilize city staff and partner agencies to deliver food to the most vulnerable residents, particularly seniors, families with children, and people with disabilities.
After that, Jones’ plan calls for short-term stabilization over the next two to three weeks. During that stage, coordination would be strengthened among nonprofits, faith groups, and schools to increase food distribution capacity, secure warehouse and storage space, and recruit volunteers to handle higher demand.
Finally the City would move to a long-term strategy that would see the development of sustainable systems to keep food pantries stocked, expand meal programs, and ensure Pasadena is better prepared for future federal funding disruptions or economic shocks.
Throughout all three stages, Jones underscored communication and coordination—sharing information with residents, aligning resources across organizations, and keeping local partners informed to prevent duplication of effort and ensure no one goes hungry.
Gordo said he remembered seeing food insecurity first hand when he was growing up.
Gordo and his family used to deliver food to struggling families when he was growing up.
“Delivering food to families in need left an impact on me,” he said. “We all know it’s going to get worse if this shutdown continues.”
Organizations including Friends In Deed, Helping Hands, Union Station Homeless Services, and the Pasadena Senior Center reported record demand, with Friends In Deed serving over 800 households last week, up from an average of 605 a year ago.
The Pasadena Unified School District has expanded its “backpack nutrition” program to provide 18 to 20 pounds of groceries and fresh produce to students each month, currently reaching more than 400 children with plans to serve an additional 1,600.
Pantry directors said they are coordinating volunteers, expanding storage, and extending hours to ensure no family goes hungry as the shutdown continues.
“We’re already experiencing more demand than at any previous point in the program’s history,” said Ryan Greer, vice president of programs at Friends In Deed. “Last week alone we served over 800 households — that’s a record for us — and we expect those numbers to climb if CalFresh benefits don’t resume soon.”
Residents seeking food resources were advised to call 2-1-1 or visit lafoodbank.org.
“One in eight Pasadena residents relies on SNAP,” Jones said. “Our job is to make sure none of them go hungry.”
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