A strange incident occurred at the ADAMS / Vermont farmers market near USC last week.
Pomegranates, squash and apples were in season, Pink Guavas were so ripe you could smell the heady aroma from afar, and nutrient-rich yams were perfect for the holidays.
But with federal money in limbo for the 1.5 million people in Los Angeles County who depend on food assistance from the food assistance program — or Snap — the church’s parking lot to hold the market was largely empty of customers.
Even if the market accepted payments through Calfresh, the Stap Stap system, it would not have been discovered by anyone when the gates were opened. Many vendors are down on their own from their stands.
The line of cars stretched for more than a mile as people waited to receive a box of free food provided by the LA Food Bank downtown.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
As thousands of Californians were placed in food banks to force free food, and fighting the delivery of Federal allocations to sow uncertainty, few people who received help seemed to spend money in foreign markets like this one.
“So far we’re doing 50% of what we usually do – or less,” said Michael Bach, who runs a hunger-struck, non-profit food farmer’s market across the Greater La Area, offering “market game” credit cards to paying customers.
The deal allows consumers to buy up to $30 worth of Vares Fruit Provel for just $15. Opening the ledger on his desk, Bach’s colleague usstrellita strellita escor noticed that only a few customers had taken advantage of the offer.
Throughout the week in the language markets where the workers were stationed, the absence was just a light, he said. “I was in Pomona on Saturday – we only had six payouts all day,” he said. “Zero in La Mirada.”
Calffsh customers looking to double their money on purchases were losing big in the Downtown La market the next day, Echor said.
A volunteer boxes a free meal for a family at a drive-through food delivery site in an industrial town.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
“This program tends to attract a lot of people, but they’re either holding on to what they’ve left or they don’t have anything on their cards,” he said.
The disruption in aid comes in the wake of the Trump Administration’s decision to bring Snap payments only to parts of states covered by the ongoing government shutdown, prompting a court order to restart funding in November. On Friday night, the Supreme Court Askergeated Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson temporarily blocked the order pending the decision of the US district court of the Court of Appeals.
But at that time, Calfry had already started loading 100% of the November allocation to Debit’ Debit cards. Even with retaliation for food aid recipients in California, food insecurity is a persistent problem in LA, said Kayla de la Haye, Director of Institute for Food System Equity at USC.
A study published by his group last year found that 25% of residents in La County – or about 832,000 people – Food insecurity has been found, and that is among the lowest population, 41%. The investigators also found that 29% of the County’s residents face nutritional insecurity, which means they have no options for getting healthy, wholesome food.
Those figures marked a small improvement compared to the data from 2023, when the end of the pandemic-period strengthened the programs of the state, of the County and inflation – combined with the increase in the prices of anger – caused by the decline of the organization in 2020, said De La Haye.
“That was a big wake-up call – we had 1 in 3 people in 2020 being food insecure,” De La Haye said. “We had huge lines at the pantries.”
But while the USC study shows the rapid delivery of food aid through government programs and benefits quickly can reduce food insecurity levels in an emergency, the researchers found many angels can participate in food aid programs.
Despite making the County Register eligible families ten years ago, De La Haye said, only 29% of food insecure families in La County were registered in Calfry, and 9% in – It’s a paperThe Federal Nutrition Program is good for women, infants and children.
De La Haye said that the participants in his focus groups shared the reasons why they did not know.
Even the majority of those who receive aid are counted: 39% of Calffry recipients are found to lack an affordable source of food and 45% face nutritional insecurity.
De La Haye said hunger and malnutrition have negative health and long-term consequences – contributing to high rates of heart disease, diabetes and high levels of depression, anxiety and depression in adults and children. In addition, he said, when people feel insecure about their finances, non-perishable items like fresh, healthy food are often the first items sacrificed because they can be expensive.
The USC study also reveals serious racial issues
De La Haye said his team is analyzing the data from this year and will publish it in December. That analysis will look at the investments made in the food system over the past two years, including the allocation of $20 million in Federal funds to PATRORY TO RESPOND TO RECEIVING THE BENEFITS OF FOOD AND LEARNING about healthy eating.
“These things interfere with people’s ability to get food, including and especially cutting this important system that is very important for 1.5 million people in the County – we don’t mean those storms,” said Dea Haye. “People just live on the precipice.”
